


Oh Take Me Back to the Start

by A_Passive_Aggressive_Turkey



Category: Veronica Mars (Movie 2014), Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Season/Series 04 Spoilers, Time Travel, references to canon themes, that includes some strong references to child abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2020-09-06 07:28:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20287693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Passive_Aggressive_Turkey/pseuds/A_Passive_Aggressive_Turkey
Summary: Waking up the morning after the car explosion, Veronica and Logan find themselves back at the beginning of their Junior year of high school.





	1. Waking Up and Still Dreaming

Logan jerked awake with a start, the booming sound of the explosion still ringing in his ears. The sudden movement jolted his sore back but otherwise, he seemed unharmed but that was far from the strangest thing about his current situation, for one he wasn’t bleeding out on the pavement as might be expected for the survivor of a car explosion, instead he was sitting in a rather comfortable, vaguely familiar bedroom. It was far from a hospital room and nothing like the one he shared with Veronica, no it was big and fancy and

“No, no no no no,” Logan spoke out loud, finally placing where he was. “There is no way this is happening.”

The room in question was the one where he spent arguably the worst years of his life, his teenage years and it shouldn’t have been possible for him to be sitting in it, because it had burned down with the rest of his house when he was seventeen but here he was.

Leaping up Logan searched the room that wasn’t meant to exist, looking for his phone, hoping that it might offer some guidance. His phone, however, when he did find it, residing on his bedside table, only bought more confusion. It was the phone he’d owned in 2004, the one he’d held onto for years, as it was his last gift from his mom before eventually relenting and upgrading to a smartphone five years later. He couldn’t work out if he was meant to be surprised when it powered on, or if surprised was really a word he could use considering how his morning was going so far.

The primitive flip phone showed him all that he might expect from a phone he’d owned as a teenager. Quickly scrolling through his contacts he found Veronica’s number way down the list. Apparently, this phone came from a time that they weren’t speaking. Pressing the call button he silently hoped she’d have some explanation for him, that she’d reassure him that he wasn’t going crazy or if he had truly somehow managed to land himself in 2004, that she’d at least talk to him.

She didn’t pick up.

Tugging a hand through his hair in frustration, Logan stared down at the ancient phone, Logan made a split-second decision to take a visit to Sunset Cliffs, betting that there was a good chance that if he was somehow back in his teenage home, that she would be in hers.

Throwing on a brown top with blues jeans, Logan grabbed his phone but couldn’t find his keys. Hoping that he might’ve left them in the car by mistake, he quickly left the room and hurried down the house towards the front door.

“Logan there you are.” He froze, hundreds of memories, each worse than the last flashed through his mind as he heard the voice of the great Aaron Echolls for the first time in person since he was eighteen. “I’ve asked one of the staff to drive you to school today and to pick you up after, I want you coming right home, not sneaking off.”

Logan turned slowly and faced his father for the first time in many years. He would have been gaping because Aaron took offense.

“Don’t give me that look, you’re getting a fair punishment for getting caught with a bong at school. Really Logan, are you trying to embarrass me?”

At least that answered exactly when he was meant to be. “No Dad, wouldn’t want any embarrassment coming from this family.” The sarcastic quip still ruling off his tongue, even after years of not needing that coping mechanism.

“Just go wait outside Logan, I don’t want to see your face until dinner, is that understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

Aaron nodded and walked away.

Logan let out a sigh of relief and allowed himself to relax a little, he’d get in father behind bars as soon as he talked to Veronica and they’d make sure that he rotted there this time. First he needed to find Veronica and make her listen to him, hopefully, she remembered or at the very least would be open to talking once he told her he knew who killed Lilly. Really he hoped that this was just some coma induced nightmare and he’d wake up in the hospital, in the demons slayed present day with his wife by his side. He really needed to see Veronica.

Heading out front to wait for whoever was going to be his lift today, he made his plan. upon getting to school, he’d scan the car park for her car, should it not be there, he’d wait by the gates and try to persuade her to bunk off to talk, otherwise, he’d wait by her old school office, the girl's bathroom, during the break to talk. He just hoped that the deeply regretted smashing of her headlights, something that likely occurred during the past few days in this timeline. Wouldn’t stop her from talking to him. Even if this was some coma dream, he still wanted to be around her.

With his plan settled, he felt happy enough about getting into the backseat of his parent's staff members car. His parents.

Logan stilled once briefly after clicking his seatbelt into place at the sudden realization that in this time his mom was still alive. Watching the mansion disappear as the car rolled away, Logan stared back, knowing he’d see his mom again that evening and a little part of him hoping that this wasn’t a dream after all.

* * *

Veronica came back into consciousness slowly, as if her brain was attempting to protect her from the grief that would once again swallow her whole once she fully awoke. Blinking open her eyes, she took in her surroundings, while she may have fallen asleep in her dad’s house, this certainly wasn’t the one she’d expected to wake up in.

“Dad.” She cried out, confused and more than a little scared that Logan’s death had been one traumatic event too many and had sent her into la la loopy land.

“Veronica Honey, what is it? Are you okay?” Veronica’s dad asked rushing into her room, worried about what could have made his tough as nails daughter sound so worried, but this wasn’t the version of her father that Veronica was used too. this one was younger, with darker hair and full use of both of his legs.

La la loopy it was.

Trying to think quickly as to not upset her father too much, but with her brain still muddled from the events of the past two days, there was only one answer she could think of. “Yeah, sorry, think I just had a bad dream.”

Keith’s worried frown relaxed a little as he walked in to take a seat on her bed. “Honey after everything you’ve been through with your mom and Lilly, maybe you should try therapy again.”

“You sound like Logan,” Veronica said starting to roll her eyes before her brain caught up to her mouth and suddenly she was blinking back tears and attempting to swallow the lump in her throat. After all the crying she’d done yesterday, you’d think it wasn’t possible for her body to have enough water left for more tears but here she was fighting them back down again.

“You’re talking to your old friends again?” Her dad asked cautiously, likely hoping that maybe Veronica was getting some part of her old life back. His question, however, led Veronica to a very different realization. If her father was here, maybe fifteen years younger and talking about the tragedies of her teen-hood then maybe she could spend some more time with Logan, even if it was during a period in which he hated her, in her brain crazed grief-induced hallucination of at the very least extremely vivid dream.

Jumping up Veronica knew she’d need to placate her dad first. “Yeah, kinda, not really.” That’ll do it, give every answer to confuse them, way to go Veronica. “But I’ve gotta get to school earlier, school project and you know me, all about the grind.”

“Okay Sweetheart, just remember to grab at least something to eat before you go,” Keith said as he moved to walk out of her room, the man seemed placated at least.

Getting on a pair of black jeans, a purple top, and a black jacket. Veronica spent a second re-familiarising herself with her old bedroom, grabbing her phone, purse, and keys she set out of her room. With a quick stop in the kitchen to pick up a breakfast bar, Backup running up to her for morning cuddles.

“Hey boy, oh I’ve missed you.” She stage whispered to her childhood pet, happy to have been able to reunite with at least one lost member of her family. “I’ve got to go find someone else now, but I promise lots of Veronica Backup time this evening.”

The pit bull, looked up at her, not understanding a word but happy to be getting a bit more attention than usual. “Okay, I’ve really got to go.” Bending down to give him one last hug, she quickly got up and hurried out the door, eager to see someone else taken too soon.

The LeBaron was certainly not previously on the top of Veronica’s most loved cars list but at that moment it was the only thing that might let her see her husband one more time before she either woke up or regained her marbles. For that reason and that reason alone, it was now the most favorited item that she had ever owned.

She didn’t remember the drive from Sunset Cliffs to Neptune High taking so long, then again it was unlikely that she’d ever been all that anxious to get to school, definitely not at any point during her time living at that apartment.

Arriving early to school, certainly had its perks, the main one being hardly any of the parking spaces were taken yet so she had her pick of them, choosing to park near where the 09ers tended to park was strategical in her part, an attempt to spot Logan before he saw her.

It wasn’t long before more car started to fill in the spots, she hadn’t really been that early and it wasn’t uncommon for students to arrive early to spend some time with their friends before class. Veronica herself had done that on occasion before Lilly had died, her second-best friend hadn’t been quite as keen to spend any more time at school then need be.

Still not seeing the yellow monstrosity that had signalled Logan’s arrival so clearly in highs school, Veronica pulled out her old flip-phone, a modern-day habit to hang out on her phone more then out of any hope that it would hold answers to where the teenage form of her late husband was, just thinking that sentence was starting a headache.

Looking at the screen, Veronica could see that she’d missed a call from Logan, her phone likely being on silent during a stakeout the night before. Seeing his name on her screen caused hope to flare up within her, maybe the Logan in this dream version of her high school years wouldn’t hate her, she couldn’t remember any time he’d called her between her dad going after Jake Kane and her looking into his mom’s death.

“You busy, I could come back another time.” The voice brought her out of her thoughts. Looking up quickly, Veronica was faced with none other than the former teenage version of her husband and if the look he was giving her was anything to go by, he certainly remembered that they were married.


	2. Time for a Chat

Tears sprung to her eyes as she drank in the sight she’d truly never expected to see again, never mind the death and destruction that Penn had brought down on their lives. Before the morning she’d never have considered that idea of seeing a teenage Logan again, outside of photos and videos.

She stared openly at him, he stared back, his original cautious look slowly turning more anxious as a few seconds moved by and she had yet to move, or speak, or do anything remotely Veronica like. And then she sprang, leaping up out of her seat in the car and colliding face-first into his chest. Sneaking her arms around his back and clinging to him as if her life depended on it. Strong arms, not Navy strong, not yet at least but still strong nevertheless, came up around her to hug her back and his head came down to plant a lingering kiss on the top of her head as a few tears escaped her eyes, able to give herself a few seconds of peace after the awful events of the previous day.

“Bro, what the hell?” Leave it to Dick Casablancas to ruin that peace.

Pulling away from Logan, Veronica turned towards the owner of the voice with steely eyes and came face-to-face with both Casablancas brothers. If she had to have a grief-induced hallucination it could’ve at least landed her post her rapist's suicide, now she’d have to deal with this if she was ever going to get back to her happy dream fantasy.

“Well you know what they say, there’s a thin line between love and hate.” Logan’s reply should make her cringe but it was kind of accurate to the emotional rollercoaster that was their Junior year of high school. “Anyway bell’s about to ring and I know you can’t afford another detention.”

The bell began to ring and Cassidy dragged his still gaping brother away from the couple, likely not wanting to ruin his current perfect student image. Dick, however, was for once in his life, speechless and so allowed himself to be led away.

“How do you still know the exact time that the bells going to ring?” Veronica asked, knowing what the likely answer was, it's part of the dream, hello, but some very small part of her that held that childhood naivety hoped there was some other, perhaps less logical explanation.

“Very accurate watch.” Logan replied with a small grin, holding up his watch clad wrist.“Expensive too, probably.”

Veronica rolled her eyes but smiled back at him, the answer was so Logan, and plausible, if you took out the time travel elements. “Do you want to go somewhere?”

“My, my, Mrs. Echolls, what will people say.”

“Thought I said I was taking your first name.”

* * *

Veronica drove them down to the beach, questions burning both of their minds but knowing that the other wouldn’t have any more answers, they waited, a silent agreement so that they could both equally focus on what was happening.

Once they settled down on the sand, the dam broke.

“This is taking young at heart a bit too literately.”

“You know me, always literal.”

“We’re teenagers again, Logan.”

“Yeah well, I’m pretty sure this is just some coma dream from after that explosion.”

He didn’t know, it was some messed up type of dream where she had to explain to her husband that he was dead, that this wasn’t real and soon she’d wake up and have to go on living her life without him.

Logan’s brow crinkled in confusion at her sudden falter in words. “what is this? Like I answer the reason why we’re here and the world suddenly stops working?”

“No Logan.” Veronica paused, taking a breath before powering through. “This can’t be your coma because you're not in a coma, you died when that bomb went off.”

“What, no.” He looked stricken. “That’s not, possible.” His wild eyes met her damp ones before they closed and he spoke quickly “Fuck.”

“Yep, my words exactly, you made me lose the bet.” She tried to play it off.

It didn’t work.

“Veronica.” He let out before pulling her back into his arms, her earlier display in the parking lot making much more sense now. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

With that she crumpled into him for the second time that day, allowing his steady heartbeat to clam her, reassure her that he was still here somehow and that tiny hope flared that maybe she could stay here, it wouldn’t be so bad, she already knew how to beat all the monsters that would come their way for so many years into the future. Wasn’t it time she got a break, rather than the constant ruination that seemed to always follow her?

A few minutes of silent went by with them each once again lost in their own thoughts before Veronica started to pull back. Gazing up at Logan’s face, her eyes fell to his lips for a second before she started to move closer, meeting him in the middle for their first kiss since their wedding.

It started off slow, a chaste steady presence but quickly grew more heated, whether emotions from the near-death experience, the unfamiliar teenage hormones or just their normal chemistry, neither knew nor were they in a state of mind to question such things.

Lips parting, mouths fused, air soon began to become an issue. Eventually, Logan pulled back, only to start kissing a trail from her mouth, down her throat, stopping his journey at the junction just above her collar bone, paying special attention to that area.

“Logan.” Veronica gasped out, weeding her fingers through his hair to tug at it, not quite able to decide if she should be tugging him closer or further away. “Public area.”

Logan pulled away at that, Son of movie star gets hot and heavy down by the beach was not a headline he wanted to see published again. “We could go back to mine, my parents aren’t home.” He grinned.

* * *

The drive from the beach to the Echolls family mansion wasn’t a long one but it was long enough for the fog to start to clear from Logan’s head.

“Did you bury me?”

“What?” Veronica’s eyes flickered briefly from the road to meet Logan’s eyes for a millisecond. “No, it, the bomb only went off yesterday.”

Logan nodded, happy that Veronica wasn’t forced to grieve him for very long. Of course, him having died led to another major problem. If this wasn’t a coma dream then what was it. “Well, this really isn’t how I imagined the afterlife.”  
“This isn’t the afterlife, obviously I’m just having a very vivid dream," Veronica replied, keeping her eyes decidedly on the road.

“That would be a great explanation, except that I very much have agency over my own thoughts.”

“Well so do I Genius and anyway that could just be my subconscious making you say that.”

“You make a good argument.” Veronica snorted at his reply. “However, what you’re not considering is that maybe the bomb killed the both of us and we’re in the afterlife together.”

“Okay you should not be so happy about the idea of me dying,” Veronica pointed out.” and I remember the fallout of the bomb. So unless I died from complications of my light concussion, I seriously doubt that.”

Logan let the conversation pause for a second to consider what she’d just said. “You know people can die in their sleep when they have a concussion.”

“Yeah bad concussions, it wasn’t even bad enough to keep me at the hospital. I didn’t die.”

“Yeah cause it would be so bad if it turned out we were stuck here together.”

Veronica’s reply was stopped by her pulling up to Logan’s house, tapping in the code that she could still remember from years of going round to the Echolls mansion as a teenage. She quickly drove up the drive and parked in front of the house. Half stepping out of the car, she turned back to a still seated Logan. “I don’t want to go back.”

She didn’t need to say anything more, Logan’s smile was sad, haunted by the idea that maybe this was just some dream of Veronica’s and come morning they’d be separated forever.

“Hey you know,” Logan started following her out of the car “It might be time travel, you know mystical forces that couldn’t stand to let such an epic love story end in such a lame way.” It was more of an attempt to lighten the mood than coming from any actual belief in the idea but it did the trick.

Veronica rolled her eyes, barely suppressing a small smile. “Okay, you let me know how your Sci-Fi novel turns out.”

Logan grinned back at her and moved to open the door, leading them into the living. They settled down on the sofa, thighs pressed together.

“It’s not that I want to dismiss the idea of this being the afterlife,” Veronica started, picking up where they left from the conversation in the car. “I just always thought the afterlife would involve Lilly.”

“You believe in the afterlife?”

Veronica shrugged. “Remember the day Cassidy blew up the bus?”

Like Logan could forget, the day he’d heard a bus that was meant to be carrying all of his friends and the love of his life, had gone over a cliff without any news of survivors was burnt into his brain. “Yeah, I remember it.”

“I was meant to be on the bus, except at the gas station I thought I saw Lilly and then the bus drove away without me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to go all spiritual on you.”

“That’s good, never mind this being thrown back to the past stuff. That would have been the real cause of alarm.” Logan interrupted.

“Yeah you’re right, that’s not me. So let's pause the talking part of today's episode and move back to the fun stuff, you know before I wake up.” Veronica said moving to straddle him.  
‘I for one still stand by time travel.” Was his reply between kisses peppered across her face.

“Well if it is then we’ve gotta slow this show down, cause I’d still have Chlamydia.”

Logan froze. “Shit, you’re right.”

“Can’t believe I’m arguing that I’m wrong but it’s not right, this isn’t real. No STDs can be passed in dreams.”

Logan’s slight, smug smile from her admittance turned into a frown by the end of her sentence. “You don’t know for sure what this is and anyway even ghosts should always take measures to prevent STDs.”

Veronica leaned her forehead against his with a huff of frustration. “Fine I'll get a test,” she replied. “but if I wake up before this test is finished, I will not be a happy girl.” She finished rolling off him and back onto the couch.

“Noted.” Said Logan, brushing a stay hair back behind her ear. “Did I ever mention how hot your short hair was?”

“Not helping.” She huffed getting up to get her phone out of her bag and book a doctors appointment.

Opening her phone, Veronica found a series of texts lighting up the screen.

Dad: Hope you have a great day at school Honey

The man was sweet, what could she say. The other messages were from Wallace.

Wallace: where r u

Wallace: there’s a rumor u serviced Logan in car park

Wallace: dude’s batshit

Veronica smiled at her friends messages, considering at this time Wallace must have barely known it, it was a nice reminded of her best friends quick loyalty. Typing out a quick reply

Veronica: can’t talk. explain later

She figured he’d either be completely or fast approaching being used to her erratic behavior, especially coming from her teenage self. Coming out of messages, she turned her attention to the reason for getting out her phone. Booking a doctors appointment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for such a great response to the first chapter of this story, I was not expecting it at all but it was really nice to see.  
I hope this chapter lives up to all of your expectations but that would be quite a feat to achieve.  
Please keep in the that this is the first time I have written anything other than a short story in seven years and it is the first time I have even attempted to write anything with the number of characters I plan to include in this.  
That being said, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and will stick with me for further installments if you have any questions feel free to hit me up, either here or on Tumblr at Passiveaggressiveturkeys.


	3. Hope Springs Eternal

  
After talking to her doctor, who’d been able to fit her in for the following morning, the next couple of hours past without incident. Deciding it was safest to pass with something to occupy them and neither wanting to return to school, they settled on watching a movie, the South Park movie to be precise, Logan relenting due to him figuring that Veronica had undergone worse then he had in the last day. Of course, it was still less than twenty-four hours ago that they’d gotten married.

“You know,” Logan started, his interruption of the moving they’d watched together hundreds of times earning him a glare from his wife. “We were meant to be on our honeymoon now.”

Veronica’s expression softened at that. “I know, you sap.”

Logan just shook his head and put his arm around her shoulder, allowing her to lean into his side even more. It was like that they sat for almost the rest of the movie, content to just sit with each other and watch the familiar movie, neither wanting to broach any darker subjects again just yet. However, the peace that they found that morning wasn’t to last long.

It was the shuffling of feet entering the kitchen area behind them that first alerted them to her presence, her voice ringing out as clear and precise as it had always been, as she had been trained to be.

“Logan? What are you doing back from school so early?”

The couple both got up to turn and face the source of the voice; Lynn Echolls. Logan couldn’t help but stare at the sight of his long-dead mother, seeing her in the flesh was somehow more painful than seeing his father. Maybe it was the lack of closure or the knowledge that she’d cared more than Aaron but not enough to protect him, to stay alive.

Realizing that Logan was in no state of mind to come up with any excuse as to why they were there in the middle of the day, instead of in some classroom in Neptune High, she jumped in with the first lie that came to her. “It was a half-day, for teacher training.”

Luckily for the sake of their cover, Lynn was already a few drinks in and in no state of mind to be questioning why she’d never heard of this half-day before or that they’d been there long enough for the movie’s credits to start rolling, signaling a mid-morning start to the movie.

Lynn just nodded. “That must be nice, to get the day off. It’s good to see you around here again Veronica, Logan needs more good influences in his life.”

Veronica shot a small smirk towards her husband at his mother’s words but it quickly dropped off her face, seeing that Logan wasn’t really taking in any words being said, instead, his face subtly, almost any noticeably, kept changing from utter relief to searing pain.

Veronica reached out to squeeze Logan’s hand before reply to Lynn. “It’s good to see you too, Mrs. Echolls.” She kept it short, wanting to spare Logan from any more pain that his parents could cause him but knowing, having always known, that it was an impossible feat.

Lynn nodded at Veronica’s reply, grabbed a fresh bottle of vodka from the cabinet and turned to leave. Seeing his mom start to walk away snapped Logan out of his thoughts. “Mom.” He called out, making his way around the sofa, towards the entranceway to the kitchen that his mom had passed in.

“Yes?” She replied with a note of exasperation at the further delay.

Logan paid it no mind, instead, he reached his arms around his mother’s much smaller and very fragile body delicately. “I’m sorry,” he started. “I know I make it harder, with him but that’s going to change, I’m going to make things easier for you.” He didn’t know if he could, maybe Veronica was right and this was all some dream but if there was a chance that he could save his mom then that was what he was going to do. No, try about it, he was not going to live through his mother’s suicide for a second time.

Lynn was not expecting such a display from a teenage son, of course, she didn’t know that there wasn’t a teenager in there. So she allowed the hug to go on for a short time, giving herself a rare peaceful moment with her son, the type of which she had not experienced for many years at this point before she drew back. “I’m glad you’ve decided to start making efforts to get along with your father.”

Her reply made both Logan and Veronica cringe, Logan because he planned to do the exact opposite and for Veronica, because it was hard to watch her husband’s mother be so blatantly indifferent to her son’s abuse.

Lynn quickly made her exit after that, leaving Veronica and Logan to a room full of silence and unanswerable questions. Again putting aside the more confusing parts of their situation, Veronica made her way around the room to join Logan, she reached her hand out to rest on his arm, attempting to bring him any comfort she could. If this was their goodbye tour then she could at the very least make sure he was alright.

“I’m okay.” At Veronica’s disbelieving look he carried on. “Really, I’m feeling very optimistic right now.”

“How so?” Veronica asked, leading him back to the couch.

Logan hesitated for a second before powering through quickly with what he needed to say. “I know you think this is some dream you’re having and yes maybe any other alternative does seem a little crazy but you’ve got to admit that this doesn’t seem like a dream, like at all. So I’m just saying maybe we could consider other possibilities for what’s happening right now and some of those could mean that there’s a chance for us to rewrite a lot of shit that’s happened.”

“Or I could have gone batshit crazy.”

Logan looked thoughtful at the suggestion. “You have gone through a lot but you’ve never struck me as to type to give in and let yourself live in a fantasy.”

“Maybe I didn’t give up, maybe it just happened.”

“C’mon you know as well as anybody that we have at least some agency over our actions.”

“Well then maybe I didn’t want to fight anymore.” Veronica exclaimed starting to stand up.

“I’m sorry.” Logan started, reaching out to pull her back to him. “I didn’t mean to upset you, it just doesn’t seem like you to fall into madness, not this quickly.”

Veronica nodded against his chest, she was tired of fighting, with Logan and with the world. Only one of those she could stop.

“Does it really seem more likely to you that we actually traveled back to our teenaged selves than me having a trip to la-la land?”

“Hey, I’m just saying we should keep our options open.”

Veronica smiled at Logan reply, deciding to give Logan’s suggestions some thought, even if it was just to appease him and the small hopeful part of herself that wanted time travel to be true.

“So what you’re suggesting is that we’ve been transported back fifteen years to what? Right the wrongs of our past? Bring down the big bass of our teenage hoods a little earlier? Stop Penn before he becomes a mass murderer?”

“Yes, yes and yes. Come on think about it, all the lives we could save, not just me. So many of our classmates died, like a crazy amount and we could save them all.”

“Yeah but I’m not like that bothered by whether our Neptune High peers are dead or alive.”

“Not even Meg?” Logan questioned knowing the answer, he also knew that she would want to save Neptune High students because most of them were innocent but that wasn’t a fight he wanted to start on today of all days, so he plowed on. “We could turn Woody Goodman in, gather evidence on what Mercer and Moe did at Hearst, maybe even stop them before they even start.”

“So what you’re saying is you want us to turn into everyday superheroes?”

“Aren’t we already?”

Veronica ignored that, knowing it was kind of true but not wanting to go there. “Okay so maybe I like the idea of what you’re saying, I’m not saying I think it’s possible or that doing it will end up actually helping anyone”

“Wouldn’t expect anything else Bobcat.”

“I wasn’t done, I may not believe it will any difference but I’ll help you.”

Logan’s face softened at her offer. “Thank you. And hey when my theory turns out to be true, I can plan myself in the lifetime movie.”

Veronica scrunched up her nose at that. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves Bucko.”

Logan laughed softly and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

“One condition,” Veronica added. “We take down Aaron first, I don’t like the idea of you living under the same roof as him.”

“Aww Honey you’ll warm my cold dead heart.”

“That’s not funny Logan and I’m being serious.”

“I know, I’m happy to take him down soon. I saw him this morning, was not a fun time and I do not wish to repeat it anytime soon.”

“You saw him?” Veronica gapped. “And you didn’t think to inform me of this at any point.”

“I did, that point is right now.”

“Logan.”

“I know okay, I just don’t like thinking about him, it’s not productive to containing my anger and I don’t want to be angry right now.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Logan questioned, surprised at her easily Veronica yielded.

“Yes, okay, I’m not going to fight with you right now, not after I almost lost you. He’s your dad, it’s your call.”

“Really glad you said that because I don’t think you’re going to like this next part.” Logan started before swiftly moving forward, not wanting to give Veronica a chance to object to a plan he knew was a bit reckless and that could cause them both a lot of pain. “Before we turn Aaron in, I want to have a chance to see how my mom’s really doing, make sure that her husband being charged for murder isn’t going to send her jumping off any bridges.”

Veronica squeezed her eyes shut at his words, knowing that she’d feel the same way if she was in his position. After the night she’d thought she’d lost her dad, only to find him still alive, she’d have done anything to keep him that way and never feel that pain again. But that meaning that he’d stay with Aaron, in his house. she didn’t like it.

Opening her eyes, she turned back to face her husband and his very complicated family situation. “I understand, I do but I don’t want you staying with him, what if he hurts you again?”

“Don’t think people in your dreams can actually get hurt.”

“So we’re swapping sides now?”

“No,” Logan sighed. “no, I just, let me have tonight to see how she is. Tomorrow whether you wake up here or fifteen years in the future will decide our plans forward.”

“So if I’m still here by tomorrow we’ll get the tapes?”

“Yes, if my mom seems stable.”

“I guess that’s fair enough. Just try to stay out of his way”

“I can do that.” Logan replied, smiling down at her, happy that they’d managed to reach some kind of agreement and hoping that all this would still be here tomorrow so he could save his mom and his future. His thoughts were interrupted by Veronica’s ringtone.

Frowning, confused as to who would be calling her, Veronica flipped open her phone and answered the call.

“Hey, dad.”

“Hey, Veronica, did you have an after school thing? Normally you’re at the office by now”

Veronica’s head shot around to the clock hanging in the room, a clock she’d spent the better part of the day ignoring and now realized school that let out over half an hour ago.

“Sorry, dad lost track of time.”

“As long as you’re not in any danger.”

“Me? In danger? Pfft as if.”

Logan raised his eyebrow from his spot beside her but declined to comment, all three of them, knew that Veronica attracted danger like a bee to a flower, there wasn’t much point in saying so.

“Right, yes must have you confused with my other daughter.”

“Other daughter? You have been holding back. Is her name Betty?”

“Oh sorry, I seem suddenly unable to talk.”

Veronica rolled her eyes at her dad’s antic, even though he couldn’t see her, she figured it was a way she could involve Logan in the conversation.

“Okay Veronica, I’ve got to get back to work, glad you’re safe and don’t do anything dangerous.”

“I know, dad. I knew not to talk to strangers before the alphabet.”

“Bye, Honey.”

“Bye, dad.”

Veronica slouched back on the couch. “So, I may have forgotten that when I was a teenager my dad actually liked to keep tracks on me.”

“It’s going to be weird to technically be kids again, isn’t it.” It wasn’t a question, they both knew it would be but still, Veronica answered.

“Yeah, I think it is.”

“You should go to the office.”

“But Logan, this might be the last time we ever spend together.”

“I’m choosing not to believe that and in order to carry on that belief, we need to act like normal, so you work at your job and I’m going to be here tomorrow, I promise.”

Logan’s face looked so earnest that she couldn’t help but want to believe him. “Okay.” She relented. “But you’re not allowed to break your promises.”

“I agree, would be a terrible way to start a marriage.”

His talk of the future comforted her a smidge, his unbreakable hope for a better life was so utterly Logan that she couldn’t help but start to believe that he might be right.

The couple walked, hand in hand to the front door, Logan leaned down to kiss her, cupping her face in one hand and rubbing soothing circles on her arm with the other, he attempted to pour all his feelings, all the love, and all the hope into the kiss hoping that she’d understand.   
Veronica responded in kind, with one hand wrapped around his neck, the other fanned out across his back, Veronica decided that if this was it, their last kiss, that it would be one of their best. So she poured all her love back to him.

When they finally pulled apart, with their foreheads pushed together, he whispered his love to her and she whispered it back. No more words were needed and when she turned to leave she didn’t look back, not knowing if she’d see him again but hopeful nonetheless.

He stood and watched her leave, watched until her car had disappeared out of his drive, he knew he’d see her again. A story as epic as theirs wouldn’t end so soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! thank you all so much for sticking with me throughout now three chapters, I'm having so much fun writing this and I hope you're all still enjoying this too.
> 
> Find me on tumblr at passiveaggressiveturkeys.


	4. Parents, They Exist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little warning, there is some child abuse stuff towards the end of this chapter.

Veronica paused outside the door of Mars Investigations, giving herself a moment to recenter herself and focus on the image she was trying to project, least her super detective dad figured out something was different about her, no matter how unlikely it was that he’d ever guess the correct reasoning for that change. With a deep breath, she walked in through the doors with her head held high. Show no weakness was at least something she had down pretty well at seventeen.

“Hey, Dad.” She said with false cheeriness, settling her stuff down at the receptionist desk and turning on what seemed like an ancient computer but was actually pretty high tech for its time, Keith not wanting to skimp on what would be their primary source of research.

“Hi, Veronica, can you come in here a minute?”

Jumping up out of the chair almost as soon as she sat down made Veronica appreciate her suddenly younger limps. The pros of this timeline really were adding up.

“Please have a seat.” Keith started, giving a pause in order for her to have time to sit down before continuing. “It’s strange, just after our phone call earlier I researched another call, from Vice Principle Clemmons. Do you happen to have any idea on why your school might be calling me?”

“Dad I can explain.” Explain that she wasn’t used to being in school or having to report back to her dad on her whereabouts, maybe wasn't the best idea but she could certainly come up with some plausible excuse except her dad cut her off before she could try.

“Yes, I think an explanation would be good, as to why you missed an entire day of school, why this didn’t come up in our conversation earlier and maybe if this has anything to do with why you were acting out of character this morning?”

The man knew how to start an interrogation, it wasn’t the first time that Keith Mars had used his police acquired questioning skills in his private life and Veronica knew it would not be the last. The advantage that gave her was that she held up very well in police interrogations, both private and real.

“I was working some stuff out for a case.”

“Veronica none of these cases are important enough for you to miss school over.”

Well one of them was and considering she already knew who the killer was and where to find the evidence, it would make a pretty good excuse, for where she was today and for how she managed to find the time to put it all together. While she may have promised to give Logan the day, she doubted that her dad would be able to get the evidence in that time, seeing as it resided in the Kane mansion and by then this might well be all over.

“Lilly’s case is.” She paused her sentence to give her dad time to take in what she’d said, what it meant.

“Veronica that case is closed.”

“You know as well as I do that Abel Koontz isn’t the killer, I know you’re still investigating and I know you think the Kanes are covering up Duncan.” At her dad’s surprised face she pointed her finger at him. “Block,” she said before turning her finger back towards herself. “Chip.”

“Veronica, how did you find all that out?”

“I have my sources but I also know Duncan didn’t kill Lilly.”

“They were washing his clothes, Honey, the Kanes haven never washed clothes a day in their lives.”

“Yeah, because they also think Duncan killed Lilly, he was the first to find her and he has these epileptic blackouts which caused their reasoning for why they thought he might have killed her.”

“Then what makes you think he didn’t kill her.”

“Because Aaron Echolls did.” There it was, the big secret that Lilly never lived to tell, that Veronica barely lived to tell and half the population still didn’t believe.

“That’s a pretty big accusation, I’m hoping you have proof?”

“Not yet but I know where to find it.”

“And you're confident that this evidence will prove your theory?”

“I am, one hundred percent certain of it.” At her dad’s unsure look, she rushed to justify her answer. “Dad you’re a good detective, you were a great sheriff, I know you know about what goes on at the Echolls’s house.” Shame washed over her dad’s features so she pushed on, knowing first hand how hard it was to make charges stick to the rich and famous. “I saw a video of Lilly, on the day she died, in the Echolls pool house, having just discovered that there was a camera filming the bed.” Veronica finished, citing the contents of the most innocent video of Aaron’s collection.

Keith grimaced at the thought of that but carried on with the conversation, a conversation that was showing him just how good at keeping secrets his daughter had become. “But if she was in the Echolls pool house, wouldn’t it make more sense for her to have been there with Logan?”

Veronica shook her head before elaborating further. “No, they were broken up then and that day Lilly had told me she had a big secret, getting back together with Logan wouldn’t have been big, it would have been just another Tuesday. Hooking up with his father, however, would more than qualify as a big secret she was keeping.”

Keith contemplated his daughter’s argument, it wouldn’t surprise him that Lilly, being the thrill seeker that she had been would go after someone rich, famous and potentially dangerous. And he already knew how terrible of a father Aaron was, yet him cheating on his wife to go after his son’s teenage girlfriend was still a bit of a stretch.

“You said you could get evidence?”

“Lilly hid everything she didn’t want her mother to find in the vents in her room, I’d forgotten about it before. I think she took the rest of the videos, hid them and when she refused to tell Aaron their location he killed her.”

“So it's in Kane house?”

“Yes, I’m going there tomorrow with Logan and we’re hoping that Duncan will let us look for it.”

“Veronica, what made you think telling Logan you’re investigating his father was a good idea? Especially when what evidence you have found could end up incriminating him as much as Aaron.”

Veronica cringed inwardly at the reminder of her initial suspicion of Logan when she’d first found the camera all those years ago. Outwardly though she kept her face blank, not wanting to give her dad any reason for why she might protect Logan, not until she’d secured the damning tapes at least.

“He was with me when I found the tape.” Almost true. “I was going a case for him and was looking around the pool house.” Also kind of true, so long as she didn’t put any time stamp on when that investigation took place.

“Okay.” Keith accepted the explanation, knowing he likely wasn’t getting the full truth and vowing to get to the bottom of that later, once they’d sorted out if either Echolls was Lilly’s murderer. “But I don’t want you collecting the rest of the tapes with him.”

At that moment Veronica deeply missed being a partner in the business, not just the high school daughter receptionist but a real certified detective who her dad trusted to be able to hold her ground. It was also a good reminder of why she wasn’t so open about her cases back in high school.

“Logan’s the in, you know because he and Duncan are friends.”

“then I’ll go with him.”

“Yeah cause the Kanes are going to let you back into their house. I’ll be fine, I’ll take my car and my taser.”

Keith clenched his jaw while he considered his options, they needed that evidence, he hated that his daughter could be constantly in contact with a killer but sending her into the fire just to get that evidence didn’t seem like a very good solution, yet refusing would likely just send his daughter into that fire alone.

“Okay, you’ll take my gun and I’ll be parked across the street. Any problems you text me, got it?”

Veronica was genuinely surprised at her dad’s decision but quickly agreed to his proposal.

“What? If I told you not to, you’d just do it anyway and this way I at least can keep somewhat of an eye on you.” At Veronica’s slightly guilty look he continued. “I’ve spent seventeen years raising you, I’d like to think I know you by now. Even on the days when you’re acting strange”

“Well you know me, eye on the prize, the prize being justice and talking of justice I should probably get back to my desk job and let you get back to the detecting.”

Keith shook his head at his daughter’s words as she walked out of his office. Really he just hoped that this evidence panned out, that it wasn’t any of his daughter’s old friends and that she could finally be settled again.

———

After Veronica left, Logan knew what needed to be done. While his father had to pay for his crimes, his mother didn’t deserve to suffer anymore and he had to at least try to save her, no matter her part in his own suffering.

It had taken months of therapy before he had even begun to unpick his feelings around his mother’s compliance in his abuse and her subsequent suicide, leaving him to face Aaron alone. He knew that she’d been neglectful and abusive in her own way but also that she was a victim herself. Her premature death never fully allowing him to blame her or truly work through everything she’d allowed to happen.

Yet, this second chance he’d been granted, it offered him the ability to save his mom and maybe, finally put to rest his troubled feelings about one half of his parental unit. Aaron was another matter entirely.

With those thoughts in mind, Logan found his way towards the music room, remembering how his mom had always favored spending time there while at home.

“Mom,” Logan called out of courtesy, seeing his mom sitting at the piano, martini in one hand, the other tapping listlessly out a few notes, the melody sounded telling of a great musician who had lost all passion.

“Logan.” Lynn stopped and stood up to greet her son. “I didn’t expect to see you again until dinner.”

“I just wanted to make sure you were alright, you seemed out of it a bit earlier.”

“Oh, Logan you mustn’t worry so much.” Lynn waved her hand dismissively. “I’m fine and I sure you have much better things to do than bother me so I’ll see you at dinner.” Her words had an air of finality because although secretly Lynn was delighted that her snows showing his softer side again today, she knew it was far easier to remain distant if there was a certain level of detachment present and to be able to continue to live here, she needed that distance.

Logan nodded, knowing that further fuss would only trouble his mother more and that was the opposite of his goal for that afternoon, so silently he shuffled out of the music room without really talking to her and ended up walking along to corridor to his own room.

Flopping onto his bed, Logan closed his eyes. Running a hand through his hair, he attempted to process all of the day’s events so far. It was a lot to take in, most of it incomprehensible except that he knew that this was his second chance, change all of his mistakes, no jumping off bridges, no murder charges against him, no breaking up with Veronica, no Aspen, no nine years of radio silence and no car bombs. It wasn’t even all the things he planned to fix, it didn’t even include some of the objectively most important things and already it was growing into a massive list. It was going to be a long few weeks while they checked off the most pressing issues.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a chirp from his phone. Reaching out to pick the old device up, he saw that he’d gotten a message from Veronica.

**Veronica: school called our parents you should get out of the house**

**Logan: I can handle Aaron, I’m a big boy now with military training.**

**Veronica: contrary to popular belief not all heroes are better fresh from the fight**

**Logan: Aren’t they though ;)**

**Logan: I’ll be careful**

**Logan: I miss the kiss face emoji**

**Veronica: ( ‘ * ‘ )**

**Logan: I love you**

**Veronica: i love you too**

**Veronica: be careful**

**Logan: ( ‘ * ‘ )**

———

Logan didn’t have to wait long before he found out whether Aaron had received that call from the school. His father angrily bursting into his room, not an hour after he’d gotten the news from Veronica answered that question.

“Do you enjoy humiliating me?” Aaron raged as he took a step towards the bed on which Logan resided.

“No, I don’t.”

“Well, you seem to be doing a very good job at your attempts to convince your school that I’m a bad parent.”

Logan jumped up from the bed before replying. “No, not the truth, they can’t think that.” The snarky comment fell from his lips before he fully realized what he was saying, falling back into bad habits was as easy as it had always been but if he wanted to get out of this with his real family intact he needed to be more careful, he thought regretfully as he saw the rage intensify on his father’s face before settling into an eerie calm.

“Go pick out a belt.” The words were uttered as if he was simply a father asking his son to make a fashion choice but the true meaning, hidden beneath the words had Logan repressing a shudder, hating that he was stuck back here but knowing there was no other option in order to save his mom yet not knowing if getting the belt would help or hurt his attempts to break through to her.

Aaron saw his hesitation as defiance, the anger returning once more to his face, yet his eyes remained emotionless as if his soul had grown cold and died from all his violent acts over the years.

“Fine you want to obey me, you can lengthen your punishment instead,” Aaron said, pushing Logan down so that he was leaned over the bed before taking one of Logan’s own belts from his wardrobe to enact his punishment and indicating for Logan to remove his t-shirt.

Logan made his choice at that moment, while his body may not remember his torture resistance training from the Navy, his mind did and along with years of abuse at these very hands, he knew he could stay quiet, take the pain, live through it and go towards the better life waiting on the other side. His mom had died because he’d been fighting with his father, that was something he had never forgiven himself for. This time he would take the hits, save the anger and destroy his father when the time was right.

The hits came fast, unfaltering in their wicked way to wreck pain and misery on their victim. Aaron’s voice came cold and steady. “You know I hate to do this but you give me no choice.” But Logan knew that if he was to look behind him, his father would be wearing a stretching smile.

The tearing slashes eventually slowed down before trickling down to nothing. Aaron his anger spent and more than a little out of breath, threw his words. “Don’t do it again.” Over his shoulder, leaving Logan no time to reply even if he wanted to.

Logan, however, had no interest in reply. Instead, he heaved himself up and walked to his mirror, trying to assess the damage. The new welts were an angry red, with blood trickling out of them. It wasn’t the worst injury he’d received, either from his father or the Navy but that didn’t mean, it didn’t hurt like hell.

A knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts. Logan quickly pulled his discarded t-shirt over his head, grinding his teeth against the sensation of cloth touching his broken skin before calling out for the person to come in.

Mrs. Navarro came in with water and a little first aid kit. Placing his items down on the table, she raised one finger to her lips before turning to close the door.

Silently she removed his t-shirt, cleaned the wounds and then managed them. All of Logan’s attempts at saying he was perfectly capable of cleaning and dressing his injuries himself either fell on deaf ears or were met by a stern look to stay quiet.

Once she was finished, Mrs. Navarro simply gathered her items and turned to leave. Logan, a better man than he was a boy, reached out a hand towards her shoulder, giving her pause to stop and turn back towards him, he uttered the words that really he should’ve said to her many times over her employment in the Echolls household. “Thank you.”

She smiled back at him. “you’re welcome.” She spoke quietly before continuing her path out of his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly almost talked myself out of writing the Logan and Aaron scene a few times, partly because I hated writing it and partly because I was trying to work out what was most in character for Logan at this point. It was the fight between Logan and Aaron during Lynn's last scene that finally convinced me to keep it in, as I don't think Logan would ever truly forgive himself for that and with his current goals I thought it made sense and I hope that came across in the story as I was a little worried it wouldn't make sense.
> 
> In other news, this is officially the longest story I've ever written and there is still so much more to go. This is actually turning out to be longer then I imagined but I am quite happy to get the long story writing practice in.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed and that you'll join me for chapter 5 whenever I get around to writing it.  
Tumblr: Passiveagressiveturkeys


	5. Second Morning

Alarm blaring, Veronica woke up for the second day in a row in her teenage-hood bedroom. Reaching over to shut off the consistent beeping, she groggily sat up, taking in the surroundings, still the same as when she’d fallen asleep the night before, that was at least one thing that had changed since the morning before. She was still in 2004 then. The relief was almost overwhelming, sure being stuck fifteen years in the past came with its own problems but by the time she’d eventually managed to fall asleep the night before, she had convinced herself that she’d never see her husband again. And that was one very big bonus about being stuck in the past.

With that thought, Veronica got out of bed and started to get ready for the day, she’d have to leave early to make it to her doctor's appointment before school. A doctors appointment which hopefully wouldn’t take too long so she could pick Logan up on her way to school, it was technically her fault he didn’t have his own car this week and she wanted to touch base with how they were going to deal with all of their old classmates, as except for what must have been a very strange scene in the parking lot the previous morning, which had apparently led to some slightly raunchy rumors, the whole school still thought they hated each other. Could be fun to mess with them, having been deprived of that the first time around Veronica thought with a sly smirk.

After quickly dressing, Veronica ventured out of her room, slightly relieved to find that her dad had not gotten up yet. Things had been tense between the two of them the night before, Keith likely regretting agreeing to her plan, had tried to talk her out of it all through dinner until she’d excused herself claiming to have homework to finish. She just hoped that he wouldn’t freak out too much before this afternoon but it was still hours away and she knew how quickly her dad could rise to panic.

In the kitchen, Veronica looked at the time and knew wouldn’t be able to eat breakfast and make it to the doctors so she grabbed a few snacks to eat in the waiting room.

Backup whined at her.

“You get your breakfast too,” Veronica replied to her dog, pouring the kibble into the bowl. “There you go, boy.” She reached down to give him a scratch on the head. “I’ll see you this evening, we could go on a nice walk.” Backup’s tail wagged happily at the mention of a walk but his head stayed firmly down in his bowl.

Smiling at the once long gone pet, Veronica grabbed her belongings and hurried to the car, worried she’d be late for her appointment now if she wasn’t fast.

The drive to the doctor's office wasn’t long, it passed quickly by to the tunes of her adolescence playing through the radio, the Californian air taking the notes away as she sped along and before long it was the turning for the doctor's car park.

It turned out all the rushing to the doctor's had been overkill as walking in she was directed towards the waiting room and told the doctor would still be a few minutes. It was in the waiting room that Logan woke up, or at least she got her first message of that day from him.

**Logan: Would it be in bad faith to say told you so?**

**Veronica: this proves nothing**

**Logan: I don’t know about you but I don’t have dreams within my dreams.**

**Veronica: **i’m** a vivid dreamer **i’m** sure **i** could manage it**

**Logan: Well, of course, Veronica Mars can do anything she sets her mind to.**

**Veronica: now you get it**

**Logan: But this still takes some plausibility away from your theory.**

**Veronica: doesn’t add any to yours either**

**Logan: You’ll see**

**Veronica: sure**

**Veronica: do you want a lift to school?**

**Logan: What a generous offer, the stars have aligned in my favor today**

**Veronica: do you want the lift or not**

**Logan: I simply must accept**

**Veronica: you don’t have to be a jackass about it**

**Logan: Ah but you love me anyway**

**Veronica: whatever lets you sleep at night**

Veronica wasn’t able to see Logan reply to her text because as soon as she hit send her name was being called and she was being ushered into the doctor's office.

The process for the test was simple and the doctor didn’t seem to be too judgemental that a seventeen-year-old was coming in for an STD test, likely having gotten used to the standard procedure over the years.

“The results should be back in a week, we’ll give you a call with your results but you’ll only be asked to come back in should the results be positive and then we can talk about treatment options, okay?”

“Yep, got it. Although I’m pretty sure I do have it so can I go ahead and book my next appointment now?”

“Of course, this time next week? I can always cancel it if your results are negative.”

“that’s great, thanks.” Answered Veronica as they finished up the session and she made her way out.

* * *

The drive to Logan’s was a little out of the way for Veronica and after his response earlier she was almost tempted to leave him waiting and just head to school herself. Keyword: almost. A lot of her personal philosophy had changed since her real junior year of high school and in those fifteen years, she had almost learned how to work as part of a team. Again, keyword: almost. But she did know that she shouldn’t let her teammates down, especially the only one she really currently had. Plus smartass or not, she kind of just wanted him there. Neptune high rumor mill be damned.

Driving down Logan’s drive, Veronica could see him waiting outside of his front door, smiling and waving once he spotted her pulling up and had open the car door before she had even fully stopped the car and leaning over to kiss her hello.

“Your ride is here, sir.”

“Why thank you Jeeves,” Logan replied at the same time that Veronica started driving off. “Hey, I didn’t say where too, you’re not very good at this driver thing.”

“That’s because I’m kidnapping you.”

“Not sure you’d get a good ransom from my parents these days.”

“Who said anything about a ransom.” Replied Veronica throwing a smirk over her shoulder towards her husband.

“Kinky.”

Veronica shook her head while laughing at his comment. Somehow she always ended up here, making the best out of crazy situations with Logan at her side, even when she thought they’d be no more Logan, she still managed to end up here, albeit a slightly crazier situation than normal. They were still here.

“Earth to Mars, you still with me?”

“Hmm, what? Sorry I got lost in thought.”

“Care to share with the class?”

“No, but I’ll share with you.” Veronica started, batting her eyelashes at Logan before quickly turning her attention back to the road and growing slightly more serious. “Just thinking about how we always end up in the craziest situations.”

“I don’t think we’ve been in anything like this before.”

“No, no this is new territory.”

“Are you saying this might not be a dream?” Logan asked with a smirk.

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Veronica said with a sigh. “But I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else,” Logan replied with a fond smile.

“What do you want to do about school?” asked Veronica, changing the subject to a top that was probably best addressed before they finished the drive to school.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we can’t say we’re married, because legally we aren’t anymore and because it wouldn’t make any sense to anyone else.”

Logan, visibly saddened at the reminder that the wedding that he’d waited so long for, no one other then Veronica remembered happened replied, “I guess we’ll say we renewed our old friendship and work from there, I’m not going to let you be their target anymore.”

“Aw, you might just warm this cold, dead heart yet.” Veronica joked. “But yes, that makes sense, we can say we’re dating or something after a while if we’re still here and maybe even avoid becoming the school scandal.”

“Shame.”

“I know, we should just start making out at lunch instead.”

“I’m down.”

“Of course you are.” Veronica laughed as she started to turn her car to maneuver her car through the gated parking lot and eventually found a space to pull into. They were a couple of minutes late so hardly anyone was still milling about the car park and those that were still there were too busy trying to get to class to notice the unlikely couple that had just pulled up.

“Well, it’s now or never,” Veronica said holding out her hand.

“I was never one for delaying the inevitable.” Replied Logan, taking her hand briefly before pulling away to get out of her car and start his first day of high school in fourteen years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a small filler chapter here, that's mainly because this was originally going to be part of the next chapter but it ended up being longer than expected. Plus I'm moving next week and I honestly don't know how much time or energy I'm going to have to write over the next week or so, especially as I'm going to be sharing a room with my sister for a few days while she stays with me to help me unpack and settle. So I thought I'd split this chapter, post this part now and hope that the school part doesn't take too long to come together.
> 
> Also, I just want to say thank you so much to everyone reading, commenting and kudosing. It means the world to me and I'm just so glad that people are enjoying this fic as much as I'm enjoying writing it. And don't worry guys Logan is going to get his revenge on Aaron, I have hardly anything planned ahead for this but that is one scene I'm already working on.
> 
> As always feel free to come and find me and talk on Tumblr at passiveaggressiveturkeys.  
And thank you again everyone! See you next chapter.


	6. Back to School

As Logan sat through first-period biology, he wondered if it was a blessing or a curse that his first-class back in high school was one without Veronica. The more they were seen together, the more likely it was that people would work out that they weren’t the same people they were last week, and there was no explanation for what the hell was going on with them, at least not one they could share. Not that Veronica believed his time travel theory. It wasn’t that Logan was wholeheartedly prepared to accept supernatural explanations for their trip into the past, it was more that he was struggling to find any other possible reasoning for it, however, it was not logical therefore Veronica would never accept it and would keep searching for another answer. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know any other answers for their current situation.

It was a paper airplane hitting his still sore back that drew him out of his thoughts and back into the classroom.

**Dude talk after class**

Ah, it was definitely a curse that he happened to share his first period with Dick, who had been understandably confused by what he’d witnessed in the parking lot the day before and had decided the best course of action would be to spam Logan’s phone with texts. None of which Logan replied to, partly because he was busy with the whole time travel and second chance to save his loved one's thing and partly because he simply didn’t have a good explanation. His time for coming up with a plan was pretty much up though, and his best answer was still that he and Veronica had work through their issues and decided to repair their friendship. Not exactly a great reason for a long, intimate hug in the car park but Dick likely wouldn’t question it too much. Cassidy on the other hand. Cassidy was a whole other problem together and was very high up on his personal lists of urgent issues to attend too. One that would be dealt with swiftly as he didn't want Veronica to have to be around the younger Casablancas for any more time than needed but he also knew that she'd never agree to sort out Cassidy before Aaron, at least not with this much time before the bus crash.

In the end, he decided not to risk replying to the note. Detention was the last thing he needed that today and besides Dick would get some answers soon enough, he’d just have to wait a little while longer.

That little while longer seemed to take an eternity, teenaged Logan had mostly picked his subjects at random and while at the age of seventeen he might’ve had a fleeting interest in biology, at thirty-two he pretty much remembered none of it. This was possibly due to his teenage counterparts determination to barely make it through his classes but it did make his crash course back into high school life just that much more complicated with issues likely to continue to spring up as the day went on.

Eventually, the bell did ring, signaling the end of the period and the beginning of his interrogation. In truth, Dick wouldn’t be much of an issue, would more concerned Logan was what Dick may have told other students he saw. If Veronica’s texts from Wallace the previous afternoon were anything to go by it wouldn’t be pretty. Best to just go in and do damage control quickly, it wasn’t like he particularly cared about the opinions of teenagers. He hadn’t his first time around and if anything that view had unsurprisingly only grown stronger as he matured. No, it wasn’t that he was worried about what the other students would think. It was simply that he didn’t have the time for high school drama and he didn’t want Veronica to have to deal with it either. He’d put her through enough hell in high school to last a lifetime.

Once out in the hallway, Dick took no time in getting to the point, as blunt as he always was, some things really did never change.

“Where did you go yesterday?”

“Didn’t feel like being in school.”

“You should’ve told me, we totally could’ve gone surfing.”

Logan shrugged, “I had some stuff I needed to deal with, family stuff.”

“Stuff that involves you hugging Veronica Mars? Dude, she’s totally psycho, what were you doing?”

“She’s been helping me with something, we just kind of worked passed our problems.”

“What?”

“We did use to be friends, I know it was a long time ago but I guess we just decided to get back to that.”

“Why? She’s a psycho man.”

While Logan couldn’t deny that Veronica did have her crazy moments, he didn’t think that admitting that was the best way to get the school to lay off her.

“Well we’re friends again now and I don’t appreciate people saying bad things about my friends got it?”

"Whatever man." obviously he was still confused but he never really understood why Logan dated Veronica in the first place and Logan doubted that was something he’d be able to change even with time travel.

“Okay great, now I’ve got to get to my next class before I’m late and my parents get called again so if you have any more questions we can pick this up again at lunch.”

* * *

Veronica’s day wasn’t going much better. Her first-period English was one she turned out to share with Duncan of all people. Duncan whose assigned seat wasn’t all that far away from hers and who kept losing focus in class to stare at her instead, no doubt trying to find out the truth in all the rumors that were surely flying about Neptune high by now. Duncan, however, wasn’t too much of an issue for her. The man was known for his lack of action, especially during their Sophomore and Junior years. He wasn’t going to actually confront her about the rumors, it wasn’t his style.

It was, however, in the style of many a high school student to gossip, and gossip they did. In fact, it wasn’t during class that Veronica’s day became difficult but between classes in her attempt to swap out her books that she found the latest edition to her locker. The normal slut-shaming words littered her locker. High school was truly a magical time.

“You’d think they’d get bored with the same old insults,” Veronica said as she saw Wallace came up towards her.

“Man you really made some enemies here.”

“Pretty sure I warned you of that.” It was strange for Veronica, here she was interacting with her best friend of fifteen years and he thought they’d known each other a few days. All that history was gone, Wallace knowledge that he himself didn’t even know yet that she’d have to keep to herself in order to not scare him off. She wanted her friend again.

“You need help cleaning that off?”

“And deprive the world of knowing that Veronica Mars is a whore? Come on we can’t have that.”

“Alright but don’t say I didn’t offer.”

“Your generosity is greatly appreciated.”

“Where were you yesterday anyway?”

“On a case.” She’d decided she’d need to keep her cover story consistent if she had any chance of convincing anyone.

“With Logan?”

“And you’d turn down a job from one of the richest kids in school?”

“I would if he was a violent psychopath.”

“Oh, the car thing? We talked that out, bygones and all that.” The cover story was not working that well, Wallace already knew too much.

“Yeah, you don’t really strike me as the bygones type of person.”

“He pays well, we used to be friends, we figured it out.”

“What, so you’re just gonna be all chummy with him, after what happened the other day?”

Veronica looked over her shoulder and lowered her voice. “When I was working the case, I discovered something else, I think I know who killed Lilly. We could put our differences aside to bring her to justice okay?” Yes, she was lying to her best friend but firstly he didn’t know they were best friends yet and secondly she had to say something to convince him that everything was okay. It was just a perk that a good lie for Wallace fell into the same lie she’d told her dad.

“What?”

“I can’t talk about it right now, or here for that matter. I’m to get more evidence after school.”

“with Logan?”

“Yes with Logan.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Maybe.”

“Just be careful, I don’t want to lose the only friend I’ve got at this school.”

“Aw Wallace I didn’t know you cared.”Veronica teased. “And I’m always careful.”

“Sure you are, I barely know you and even I know that's not true," Wallace's reply hurting Veronica even though she knew there was no way he could know the actual truth. "I’ll see you later, not all of us can get away with skipping class.”  
Ah yes, class, the supposed focal point of every high school experience and now to head to her second period world history, the home of her once favorite teacher turned sexual predator. Maybe warning Susan Knight about him could be something to add to her growing list of things to sort out. No rest for the wicked that meant no rest for the hunters of the wicked either.

* * *

Before too long the lunch bell was ringing, it wasn’t soon enough for Veronica. The high school lessons weren’t too hard to keep up with for the ex straight-A student and law school graduate, it was more the fact that she’d already done high school, already graduated and hadn’t even wanted to go to the actual reunion, it was a cosmic joke that she was back here. If Logan was right, it was a big if but if he was right, Veronica didn’t understand why they couldn’t have at leave been transported back to college, at least she only hated about half of her peers at Hearst, instead of all but a very carefully selected handful at Neptune.

Perhaps it was still second natural, even after all these years but once outside with her tray of cafeteria food, her legs took her straight to her old table, the table she’d picked out for its perfect surveillance in her original high school run and had stuck to whenever she could. Some of the other students had even begun to avoid it in her scarier days.

She didn’t look up when a figure joined her at the table, mostly expecting it to be Wallace but wasn’t too surprised when it was Logan’s voice that she heard instead.

“Hey, you having a fun a day as me?”

“Super fun, high school is such a blast, can’t believe we got a chance to do it all over again. Neptune High forever.” She replied in her best valley girl impression.

Logan grinned at her reply. “People been bothering you?”

“Not any more than normal. Although your pose over there is getting very confused.”

“Oh, what fun, think we can become a proper scandal this time around?”

“This time around what?” Wallace appeared at the other side of the table, disapproval written all over his face.

“Hi, Wallace,” Veronica said brightly, fake brightness, of course, being a teenager again was so much drama.

“What’s he doing here?”

“Logan and I are going over details for that case I told you about.”

“Ohhhh what case?” Dick Casablancas, just what they needed.

“I’m not at liberty to discuss ongoing cases.”

“Yeah, don’t actually care about your weird P.I thing, it's called sarcasm. I'm just here to knock some sense back into Logan.”

“They tried for years, the doctors said it was just not possible.” Logan’s signature snark decided that was the right moment to rear its head. Maybe for the best as well, it least it showed some parts of Logan never changed, which would be an important part of getting their high school peers to not think that he was suffering from brain damage.

Madison Sinclair appeared from behind Dick. “Ugh just leave him, Dick, if he wants to roll around with the dirt then let him. He’ll come crawling back once he’s bored of giving out charity but we don't need to see this sorry show.”

“Well, I don’t remember inviting you.” Veronica replied turning to Logan, “did you invite her?”

“No, I certainly did not.”

“Than I don’t know why you’re here watch this ‘sorry show’ to begin with.”

“You think you’re so smart Veronica Mars but everyone knows the truth about you

“The truth? Or just some lies we made up because we were bored?” Logan said standing up. “I know I started this but I’m finishing it, I don’t want everyone talking shit about my wi.” Logan coughed to cover his blunder, “about my friends, Veronica’s helping me out with something and that’s all you need to know for the moment, capisce?”

“Yeah alright dude chill, whatever.” Was Dick’s only reply before he went back to the 09er tables, Madison following with a sneer plastered on her face, neither particularly feeling like angering Logan anymore. Veronica’s gaze followed them back to where Duncan was sitting, staring at what had just gone down before he met her stare which prompted him to get up and leave the cafeteria area in the most Duncan like way possible.

“Well, that was super fun,” Veronica said turning her attention back to her own table, 09er drama the least of her problems. “I truly think I’m in with a chance at prom queen yet.”

Logan snorted at her comment. “I’ll threaten them if they don’t vote for you.”

“My hero.”

“I believe that was what I signed up for.”

“Yes, defending my honor and threatening high school students.”

“At least one of those is correct.”

“You’re right, I don’t need my honor defended.”

“True, you’re very good at that yourself but I like to step in when I can, especially when it’s a problem I created.”

“And I thank you for your service but I am not going to blame you for something you did at sixteen.”

“You let something slide?”

“It has been known to happen.”

“Hmmm sure,” Logan replied in a way that said he very much thought the opposite, wanted Veronica to know that he thought the opposite but didn’t want to outright say it.

“Are you serious? You were bashing her headlights in literally this week and now the two of you are joking like old friends.” Wallace butted in, having watched the whole scene play out and was likely very confused by the camaraderie shared between the two other occupants of the table. Veronica’s own social circle had almost had a harder time accepting the couple’s relationship then Logan’s the first time around and Veronica had a feeling that it was going to be one part of their history that they couldn’t stop repeating. At least they did know from that history that their friends did eventually accept their relationship. "And stepping in when you can? As far as I can tell you started this?"

“Foreplay?” Logan more asked than said, a comment to which Veronica glared in reply before ignoring.

“We had a falling out that we worked through, we’ve been friends since we were twelve. Haven’t you ever fallen out with a friend before making up?”

“Yeah but I’ve never destroyed their property over it. I dunno, maybe I should’ve listened more closely to the things people say about you.” Wallace replied before getting up to find another table.

“Wallace,” Veronica called out after him.

“He’ll be okay, he got over it the first time around, the second, third, fourth and fifth times too.”

“We’d been friends longer than a week by then.”

“He’ll get over it, it’s Wallace, he’s almost to understanding.”

Veronica smiled at the accurate description of her best friend. “Yeah, you’re right. We’ve got bigger fish to fry anyway so let's go over the plan for this afternoon, cause I think we’ve already managed to piss Duncan off."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it's been a while but I have good excuses, the move was a move from hell, it was two full days of cleaning before I could even start to unpack and that was just my bedroom. I still don't even have wifi, this chapter is being brought to you from my local Starbucks. But I have started working on C7 already cause obviously this was finished a bit before I could post it and I should be getting wifi next week so maybe things will get back to normal soon.
> 
> As for this chapter, I know I brushed over a lot of things here, this was a deliberate choice to reflect Veronica and Logan's state right now with more important things on their minds. There will be future chapters that focus more on the high school dynamics.


	7. Crime and Punishment

After a slightly eventful school day, Logan and Veronica made their way back to Veronica’s car, ignoring the stares of students now too scared to question their regained friendship but still hoping to spy any details they could exaggerate when adding to the rumour mill. These students were, for the most part, ignored by the couple who had much more pressing issues on their minds. Keith had convinced Veronica to meet him at Mars Investigations before they all were meant to head over to the Kane home and Logan was not looking forward to the ordeal of having to regain his father in law’s trust. It had taken him over a decade the first time and while being in the Navy may have installed some patience in him, he knew he’d miss the easy going relationship he’d managed to build with Veronica’s dad. He also knew he couldn’t fault the man for not trusting him, the schools reaction to his and Veronica’s supposed friendship was enough to remind him of what a jackass he was back then. His penance it would appear would be making amends for a second time around. Still it was better than being dead.

The drive over the to the private eye’s office wasn’t long but it did give Veronica and Logan some time to catch up on their day before they had to go back to pretending once they joined Keith.

“How did the rest of your day go?” Veronica asked.

“Surprisingly uneventful, yours?”

“Same. Although Wallace still didn’t want to talk to me when I saw him the hallway so I’m going to have to come up with some way to win him over if we end up staying in this time.”

“I’m sure you will. When Veronica Mars sets her mind to someone everyone standing in the way should run scared.”

“Damn straight.”

“None of the 09ers bother you after lunch?”

“Oh there were the whispers, the confused looks and general avoidance so they were really on their best behavior. I didn’t even know they had a best behaviour.”

“It’s generally saved for when the trust fund allowance starts to dry up.”

“Damn, that’ll be why I never learned good behavior. No trust fund.”

“I dunno, you can put on quite an act.”

“Thank you, it’s a gift.”

Logan laughed as they started to bicker over trust funds until Veronica pulled up on the street across from Mars Investigation.

“You ready to face the best detective in Neptune and convince him we’re just a couple of high school friends?”

“If I say no can I be excused?” Logan asked in reply.

“Ummm no.”

“Then I’m already.”

“Great let’s go.”

The couple walked towards the building side by side. Perhaps slightly closer than you’d expect from recently reconciled high school friends but otherwise they were careful not to show any signs of being close, not when there were eyes everywhere, the most watchful of which belonging to one Keith Mars.

“Dad, we’re here.” Veronica called out as they walked through the front door.

“In here, Honey.” Keith’s voice rung out from his office where Veronica and Logan found him moments later, earphones in, appearing to be watching something on his computer.

“Dad I thought we talked about you watching adult movies at work.” Veronica joked.

Keith chose that moment to look up and he looked stricken, ill even. “Trust me there are things I’d far prefer to be doing.”

“Wait, what?”

“Come on Veronica, did you really think I was going to send you into the house of my prime suspect, armed with only,” Keith paused to look at Logan before shifting his attention back to his daughter. “The son of your prime suspect.”

“You broke into the Kane house,” Veronica stated more than asked as she started to realize what her father was saying.

“Hey, hey let’s not use words like broke into. More I entered without them being aware.” Keith replied, glancing once more at the teenage boy in his office, knowing the ties the Echolls son had to the Kanes.

Logan shrugged and held his hands up in surrender, it wasn’t like he had particularly strong ties to any of the Kanes anymore. Other than a few fond memories, his time with the Kanes was very much in his past now. Not that he could explain that to Keith, or anyone else for that matter.

“So what, you just said you’d let me do it so I’d have my guard down and you could sneak in there? That’s why you kept talking about the plan last night? So you’d know where to look.”

“Yes. Last time I checked I am your father which means I have the right to occasional lie to keep you safe.”

“I would have been safe with my plan.” Replied Veronica, raising her voice slightly out of frustration of having to return to being treated like a child.

“You don’t know that. There’s a man out there who’s already killed a teenaged girl, I’m not having that happen to my own.”

“So you just lie to me? I'm not a little kid anymore”

“Did you find the tapes?” Logan butted in having been quiet up until now but wanting to stop a full-blown out Mars family fight before their afternoon was completely derailed.

Keith paused, as the fight left him, he almost deflated. Faced with the boyfriend of the late Lilly Kane and the son of the man who had quickly risen to the top of Keith’s own suspect list shortly before his interruption.

“Yes, I did.”

“They showed Mr. Echolls sleeping with Lilly, didn’t they?”Asked Veronica softly, knowing the answer from her own discovery many years ago but needing the confirmation anyway.

“Yes they do.” Keith replied looking at Logan with such pity in his eyes that the other man had to turn away. The sympathy he’d received last time had been bad but he’d been too angry to really notice it back then. Now though he could see clearly it was almost worse. Keith was a good man, of course he’d feel sorry delivering such devastating news.

“The videos were timestamped,” Keith said, carrying on with his more recent additions to his evidence on the investigation. “The timeline is off from the official one but I can’t think of why the Kanes would go through so much trouble to coverup Aaron Echolls involvement.”

“I can think of one. Let’s say Duncan suffers from these rage blackouts, he’s the first one to find Lilly’s body, the shock sends him into a fit. The Kanes think he did it.”

“These blackouts that were conveniently forgotten about during the original investigation.”

“I didn’t know back then,” Veronica replied with a shrug, it was still the truth.

Keith sighed, he couldn’t stop feeling like his daughter was hiding more and more from him, pulling away and becoming an adult far too soon. He just didn’t know if there was anything he could do to stop it, give her back the childhood that had been stolen away that same night that Lilly had died. All he could do was try to bring his daughter’s best friend justice and hope that once her true killer was behind bars that Veronica could reclaim some of her normalcy back.

“Okay, okay, so the Kanes think Duncan is the killer. Do you think there’s any possibility that he might’ve found out about the affair and become angry? Triggering one of these blackouts.”

Veronica remembered her own similar theory back when Duncan was her prime suspect but she knew it wasn’t him. The night of the fire had cleared any doubt that Aaron was the only one truly capable of murder in her suspect list. It was Logan, however, who spoke up first.

“No, it was my dad. Duncan may have his fits and his faults but he’s not capable of murder.”

"And you think your father is?”

“One hundred percent.”

Keith nodded, his face displayed a mixture of sad and thoughtful. Logan’s own admission just confirming what he had suspected of the elder Echolls man for many years but had never been able to prove. It seemed Aaron Echolls just couldn’t stop taking everything away from his son.

“Okay I believe you. Now here’s what’s going to happen, I’m taking these down to the sheriff’s department, alone.” He added with a pointed look at Veronica. “I’ll annoy Lamb until he looks at them and then he will likely reopen the investigation. The two of you are going to stay out of this, this is not kids stuff and I don’t want my daughter more involved in any murder cases, let alone this one. Got it?”

“Yeah dad got it.”

“Good, now go do things normal kids do,” Keith said, packing up his things to head over to the sheriff's department. “Logan I’m sure you have better things to be doing,” he added pointedly.

“Got it, come on Logan let's go find some weed to smoke while we disrespect our elders.”

“That’s not funny.” Keith called back as he left.

“So what do you want to do while my dad excludes us from the case?”

“I heard something about getting high and insulting people.”

“Did I say that?” Veronica asked just as the phone rang and she walked round to answer it. “Hello, Mars Investigations, how can I help you?”

“Ever the tease.”

A minute later Veronica hung up the phone. “Looks like I’ve got a case.”

“You do know that you don’t work as a detective yet, right?”

“Please even when I was actually a teenager I worked half the cases that came through here.”

“I know, it was hot.”

“Was?” Questioned Veronica rising up out of her seat.

“Is, definitely still is and always has been,” Logan replied with a grin.

“That’s better,” Veronica answered softly before leaning up on her tiptoes to close the gap between them, relishing in the first proper private moment they’d had all day. The two of them may have been used to being apart, what they weren’t used to was being together all the time but consistently in the presence of other people.

The kiss started to grow more heated, Veronica stepping closer towards Logan as his hands came round, one to cup her face, the other resting in the middle of her back, pushing her ever so lightly closer towards his body.

“I think I left my car keys up here.” Keith’s voice broke the couple apart.

The three occupants stood in the room in total silence, none of them quite sure what to say to the situation they’d managed to find themselves in. Keith, still not saying a word, walked into his office, coming out a moment later, keys in hand.

“Veronica, on second thought I think it would be best if you came with me and waited outside.”

“I drove here myself.”

“I’ll drive you backwards.” Keith replied before turning blank-faced to Logan. “I think it's best if you go home now.”

“Well I would but Veronica was kind of my ride.”

“Then get another one.”

“Dad, you want to send him back into the house of a murderer?”

Keith sighed, he truly didn’t want Logan to go through any more suffering but the kid was trouble, or more accurately was troubled and he didn’t want the teenager around his daughter any more than necessary. And he certainly didn’t want him locking lips with Veronica.

“Logan go round to a friends house, find some reason to spend the night if you want, hell book a holiday and get out of here for a while. I agree with Veronica that it probably won’t be for the best if you’re around when and before Aaron is arrested but what you do is not my concern.”

“Dad.” Veronica chided him for his careless attitude, she’s forgotten just how overprotective he’d been when it came to her boyfriends in her teenage years. As well as his deep dislike of Logan, that while he may have been able to push it aside earlier for the case, had definitely come roaring back with a passion.

“Come on Veronica.”

Veronica turned towards Logan and quickly rolled her eyes. “I’ll talk to you later, let you know how it goes.”

“Veronica!”

“Bye, have fun,” Logan called at the retreating forms of the two Mars’s.

* * *

“Dad, about what you saw back there, I can explain.” Veronica started once they were settled into the elder Mars' car.

“I don’t want to hear it, Veronica. We’re going to have a talk about irresponsible behavior once we get home but for now, I’d just like to focus on sorting out this case. Which means not a peep from you.”

Veronica mimed zipping her mouth shut and resigned herself to staring out the window quietly for the remainder of the trip to the sheriff's department. It was about a ten-minute drive, Keith having specially chosen an area in close range of the sheriffs for easy access. Something that often came in handy with his line of work.

Once the father-daughter duo pulled up outside Keith turned towards Veronica.

“I don’t know if I’d feel better if you waited here or inside.”

Veronica raised her hands up and shrugged, as if to say, it's up to you Pops, while slightly mocking his wish for her to remain quiet while in the car.

“Fine you might as well come in, you’d probably sneak in anyway.”

Veronica raised her hand to her face in feigned shock.

Keith shook his head and led the way towards the offices. Tapping the bag to feel the laptop that he’d download the tapes onto inside. It was going to be a struggle to get Lamb to listen but even he’d have to see that the tapes were highly suspicious.

Inside the sheriff's department, Keith pointed towards the waiting area, hoping that for once his daughter would comply. She just raised an eyebrow and walked towards the receptionist desk.

“Veronica, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.” Inga’s greeting faltered at the end, remembering the morning that Veronica never seemed able to forget.

“Hi, Inga. Me and my dad just brought some tapes down that we think Lamb would be very interested in seeing.”

“Mr. Mars, hello, how are you?”

“Very well, thank you Inga and yourself?”

“I’ve been doing excellent. If you would like to wait I’ll tell Sheriff Lamb that you are here to see him.”

“Guess I ended up in the waiting area after all Pops,” Veronica said, walking over to the chairs and plopping down in one, her dad following soon after.

Lamb had them waiting there for forty minutes, likely out of a joy of messing with the Mars family than any other pressing matter. In fact, he didn’t even have a reason for the delay when he did finally show up.

“Alright Keith, what do you have for me?”

“I think this would be better talked about in your office, the tapes are of a delicate matter,” Keith replied standing along with his daughter.

“Okay you can come in my office but the kid can wait out here, who knows how many more lies she’d got stored up.”

Keith shot a confused look towards his daughter but Veronica blew it off.

“Fine with me, this magazine was just in the middle of telling me how to perfect my pout,” Veronica replied shaking the department’s copy of Cosmo in their faces.

* * *

“So what is this big pressing issue?”

“You have to watch these.” Replied Keith, opening up his laptop and pressing play on the last video, the only non-graphic one.

“A video of Lilly Kane, so what?”

“A video of Lilly Kane taken after her supposed time of death.”

“So they got the time wrong, so what? The guy confessed.”

Keith didn’t reply, instead, he loaded up the video that had been shot only days before Lilly’s tragic death.

“Have you gone mad? Why the hell are you showing me the sex tape of a dead teenage girl?”

“Just watch.” Replied Keith as Aaron Echolls face appeared on screen, stopping Lamb in his tracks and leaving him speechless.

“Where did you get this?”

“Veronica found it among Lilly’s things.” Keith said, his cover story of the illegally obtained evidence. “Are you going to question Aaron Echolls?”

“We’ll be looking into any possible new leads that come up. Now if you would like to leave, actual police work needs to be done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And as I STILL have no internet this chapter again is brought to you by starbucks, this carries on much longer and the rest of this story is going to end up being published either in starbucks or my university's library.
> 
> Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter and thank you to everyone for the continued support, it means the world.


	8. An Overdue Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: Non-graphic description of sexual violence

The ride back to the office was a silent one. Both members of the small family unit deep in thought about the events of that day, attempting to work through all the things that had happened that day before the conversation they both knew was awaiting them once they got back home.

Pulling up behind Veronica’s car, Keith shut off the engine.

“I trust you’ll be heading straight home.”

“Yes Dad.”

“And you won’t be running off to visit anyone?”

“Okay what do you actually have against Logan?” It was a valid question she thought, sure back in her time her dad had plenty of reasons to dislike Logan, most of which he’d gotten over eventually.

“What do I have against him? Maybe I don’t want someone who I picked up for drunk and disorderly charges from the age of fourteen with my daughter? Maybe I just think he’s a bad influence, which has only been enforced by the knowledge that he was the first of your friends to turn against you leading to a domino effect with the rest of them. Have of thought of that?”

The silence was truly broken and now it appeared they were having it out in Keith’s car in the middle of the street.

“Technically Duncan was the first to attempt to make me a social outcast, so why aren't you mad at him? Also are you really going to hold against him some mistakes he made as a teenager?”

“He’s still a teenager Veronica, so are you. And a lot of this wasn’t that long ago.”

Maybe for him, it wasn’t.

“Well, maybe the stuff about his dad changed him.”

“The stuff you found out yesterday?” Keith asked.

“Yes,” Veronica replied inwardly cringing.

“So he’s completely changed in the last twenty-four hours and now what, you’re going to date him?”

“It’s complicated,” Veronica replied turning away, knowing there wasn’t an easy way to explain away this one, her husband from the future.

“Oh it’s complicated, far too complicated to explain to your old man, I get it. Is it also complicated why Lamb thinks you are a liar?”

“I just tried to report something a while back but he didn’t believe me.” Veronica replied still looking away, it was the closest she’d ever come to telling her dad what had happened that night. Never seeing the need to break his heart by telling him when both during the times before and after finding out who her rapist was, he couldn’t do anything. Now, however, she had a chance to get justice but there was no way to do that without her dad finding out.

“And that something was?”

Veronica turned back towards her father, to look him in the eye so he could see her sincerity. “We will talk about this but not here, I’m not having this conversation parked on the street.”

“Veronica what is going on with you?.”

“It’s just complicated, I can’t explain it right now, not here. I’ll meet you at home and then we can talk,” Veronica said getting out of the car quickly to walk towards her own.

“Veronica,” Keith called out, his voice getting cut off by the slamming shut of her door but he didn’t make any move to follow her, perhaps scared himself about the conversation ahead of them.

Once Veronica was safely in her own car she drove to the nearest beach to park and gather her thoughts, to work out what exactly she was going to share, really what she could share with her dad to get him to trust her without making him think she was going crazy.

There was no way she was going to be able to explain Logan, the years of history that it would seem had appeared overnight would just have to remain a mystery to her father as she certainly was not going to bring up time travel with him, he'd think she'd finally snapped, she wasn't so sure he'd be wrong.

She’d just have to hope that he’d accept a general teenaged fluctuation in social circle and mostly forget about what few shitty pranks he’d pulled on her and the Mars family in general during her first year as a social outcast.

Lamb bringing up her attempt to report her rape was a wildcard, really she hadn’t expected him to have the balls to say something in front of her dad. It just showed what little regard he held for her family and how much he honestly believed she was a liar.

Cassidy was a major issue that bringing brought back into the past came with. She hated that she was currently being forced to go to school with him and pretend that everything was okay. Aaron may have been her number one priority but Cassidy was number two, well him and Woody both, and Duncan but he wasn't nearly as dangerous. 

If she was going to report it, with proof this time, that meant her dad was going to find out, which meant it would probably be best if she told him now as he was suspicious of what she could have possibly wanted to report to the police. A conversation she’d been putting off for over fifteen years and now she was being forced to have it, she could only hope that she’d be able to control her dad’s understandable outrage long enough to actually gather the evidence needed. Luckily Keith knew how convictions worked and he’d want them convicted, to be put away for a long time.

Her phone ringing brought her out of her thoughts, she answered the phone without checking the number out of a professional habit. “Hello, Veronica Mars speaking.”

“Hey Bobcat, how’d the trip to our esteemed sheriff go?” Logan’s slightly tinny voice replied.

“Ugh not great, well Lamb’s going to look into Aaron, seems to be taking it all pretty seriously, where are you by the way?”

“I am spending the afternoon on my family’s boat, figured as it's got a radio I’d know when it's safe to go home pretty quickly.”

“Smart.”

“Well, I know you don’t just keep me around for my good looks.” Logan paused before continuing, “If Lamb’s looking into my dad then why didn’t the trip go well?”

“Because Lamb is a moron and thought that bringing that he thinks I cried rape at sixteen in front of my dad would be a great idea, now I’ve got to go home and explain that.”

“Shit, where are you now?”

“Parked by dog beach, I needed a moment to gather my thoughts of what I could actually share.”

“And?”

“I’m going to tell him what happened. It's next on our list anyway so he was probably going to find out soon.”

“Are you okay? Do you want me to come round?”

“No, it’ll be easier for me to explain it alone and dad’s not exactly your biggest fan right now, apparently he currently doesn’t like you because of our year of being nemesis’s.”

“My teenaged actions, the gift that just keeps on giving. Okay well, I’ll work again on getting your dad to realize I’ve changed, it only took like twelve years the first time, maybe I’ll cut my time in half this time around.”

Veronica laughed, “Six years sounds about right.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Logan asked, returning the conversation back to its somber previous topic.

“Yeah, it’s stuff I’ve mostly dealt with, at least as much as I can. I’ll be okay, I’m just worried about how my dad will react to it all, it’s why I never told him to begin with.”

“You’re dad’s a grown man, he’ll work through it. He’s only going to be upset because you were hurt.”

"And he’ll blame himself.”

“That’s not your burden to carry.” Logan attempted to reassure. “You’ve dealt with enough, especially when it comes to what Cassidy’s put you through, a lot of it stuff we can’t even talk about anymore but this is something you can, you don’t need to look after your dad, he can handle it. What I’m concerned about is making sure we get this son of a bitch and I think Keith can help with that.”

Veronica sighed. “I know, you’re right. It was just me and him for so long and I guess I got used to looking out for him.”

“That’s not your job, Veronica.”

“Somebody’s gotta do it.”

“Not about this, Keith will be fine.”

“I know,” Veronica replied after a beat, knowing what Logan was saying was true and in line with her previous thoughts before the phone call but still dreading the conversation that’s rapidly approaching. “I should get going before dad thinks I’ve done a runner.”

“Okay, if you need anything call me, I can be there in minutes.”

“Thank you but I think I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, I love you.”

“Love you too,” Veronica replied before disconnecting the call and maneuvering the car out of its parking spot and back on to the road. Sunset Cliffs wasn’t far from dog beach, the beach in question being located in the 02 zip code and the lack of traffic in the post rush hour lull meant that she arrived home in barely over five minutes, as prepared as she was ever going to be for the night ahead.

* * *

Logan paced the span of the boat, worried that he was making a mistake by staying away from his house, away from his mom during what was likely to be one of the hardest moments of her life. A moment that she wasn’t able to stay alive for the first time around because things got too hard before it came to this. Yet here he was hiding away like a child, half hoping that Veronica would call him and he’d be able to rush to her side and push away the idea that he was neglecting his other responsibilities. He wasn’t a child anymore, why was he acting like one?

With that thought he pushed himself off from leaning against the side of the boat and worked on getting back onto solid ground, he’d be there for his mom when the police arrived, no matter what she didn’t deserve to go through that alone.

The drive from the marina wasn’t long but by the time he arrived at his parent's house, the sheriff's department had already arrived. A new lead in the infamous case that had booted Keith from office likely making Lamb attempt to actually work competently in his job for once or risk the same fate as his predecessor.

While walking up to the front door, it opened, revealing Deputy Sacks with a handcuffed Aaron Echolls heading towards one of the two police cars lining the driveway.

“Logan,” Aaron called when he spotted his son, “Tell them this is a mistake.”

“No can do Dad, I was raised not to tell lies,” Logan replied not even looking at his father while replying, the man had lost any respect Logan could have held for him so many years ago that he could barely remember having it, not that it mattered much now because it was long gone, as hopefully, Aaron would be again too.

Instead, Logan headed straight into the house, on the lookout for his mom and worried about what state he’d find her in.

* * *

Unlocking the door Veronica steeled herself as she walked in, her dad was sat on the sofa staring ahead towards the kitchen not giving any acknowledgment of her arrival until he spoke.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on now?”

“Yes,” Veronica replied, voice small, even after all these years the thoughts of that night and what Cassidy did still made her sick to her stomach.

She moved slowly to sit in the armchair next to her dad before starting her story. “In my Sophomore year, a few months after Lilly died, I went to a party, to try and prove that I was strong or something I don’t know, it was dumb. What was dumber was that I took a drink that someone I didn’t know handed to me.”

Keith’s face shot up to look at his daughter at her last comment, the color draining from his face as realization dawned of what Veronica was trying to tell him.

“I drank it and it turns out it had an extra ingredient than your normal soda.”

“Veronica, please tell me this isn’t going where I think it is.”

She looked down towards her lap, letting him come to his own conclusions.

Keith got up and started to pace the living room. “You reported this to Lamb?”

Veronica nodded.

“And he didn’t believe you?”

She nodded again.

“I’m going to kill him, I’m going to kill him and then I’m going to find the son of a bitch who, who.” Keith stumbled unable to get the words out. Instead, he walked over to the chair where Veronica was sitting, looking like he was going to hug her before hesitating. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Veronica stood up and pulled her dad into a hug. “I guess I didn’t see the point in hurting you too.”

“Veronica, I’m your dad, I’m meant to be the one looking after you.”

“You do.”

“But I didn’t, for now on, I’m going to do better.” He said, pulling back, the tears in his eyes glistening. “I’m going to find who did this.”

“I already know who it was and I’m telling you because I want your help to gather the evidence.”

Veronica got her dad to sit back down on the sofa before she told him the names of her two violators. She told a slightly edited version of her investigation into her rape, fabricating a larger role for Logan to play in her finding out the truth to help explain his current presence in her life and finishing that her investigation led her to suspect that Woody Goodman was molesting some of the children in his little league.

Keith struggled through her explanation, the whole situation far worse than he could have ever imagined from Lamb’s comment, he would have much preferred his daughter to have been rebelling by wasting police time than what had actually happened. He was still going to kill Lamb, just after he got through Duncan, Cassidy and Woody Goodman. He put his head in his hands and concentrated on his breathing, this wasn’t about him.

After her story was told and Keith had hugged his daughter for a very long time with, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Was floating around the room in a constant stream from his mouth, unable to find a way to truly show how much he wished things that been different for his little girl. When the two separated it was late.

“You should go to bed.”

“But Dad.”

“It’s late and you have school tomorrow.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“I think you’ve done enough worrying about me, I’ll be fine.”

“We look after each other.”

“No, right now I look after you.” There was no arguing with him when he was like this, it was thing Logan had been saying earlier anyway, maybe it was time to take that advice.

“Okay, Dad.” Was Veronica’s response having almost learned how to let others take care of her.

“Now try to sleep, I love you.”

“Love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I almost died, well not really but that's what my dad would say if anyone ever asked him, I got pretty ill and ended up at the hospital a couple of times so didn't write for a while then I got better and university started up again so time I used to use to write now sometimes has to be used for keeping up with my course, basically updates won't be very fast for a while now, especially with deadlines coming up soon but if you have tumblr follow me at passiveaggrressiveturkeys cause I occasionally post about when I'm writing 
> 
> Anyway here's the new chapter, was very nervous about this one, partially because of the subject matter as I really want to portray it correctly so if I made any mistakes there call me out and I'll try better with future chapters as this will be a big theme while they gather evidence.  
I was also nervous because I've been writing this chapter for weeks now and dragging it out is making me question it so I hope you all enjoy.
> 
> Also STILL no wifi so this is coming from my university library, tell me stories of what home wifi is like guys


	9. The Sun Shall Rise

“Mom.”

“Oh hello, Logan,” Lynn replied an already half-empty bottle of gin and a filled up glass next to her at the table. “They arrested your dad you know, say he killed Lilly Kane.”

“Don’t you believe he’s capable of murder?” Logan asked in a low voice, taking a seat beside his mother.

Lynn looked down at her lap. “I don’t know.” Was her answer, refusing to meet her son’s gaze because that would mean she’d have to own up for all the pain she could have saved him from.

“Mom.” Logan sighed reaching out to take her hand, “You know as well as I do how he can be when he’s angry, how he can lose control. You know he’s capable of murder.”

“Don’t say that.” Lynn’s behavior changed in an instant, drawing back from her son and standing up, bringing her glass with her. “No, this is a mistake, it’ll be cleared up and life can go back to how it was.”

“You want that life? Really? This could be our chance to escape, a fresh start.”

“I don’t know how,” Lynn mumbled, her fight leaving her as quickly as it had come. Some residue of shame getting through the barrier of years of being an addict had allowed her to build around herself and her heart.

“I do, I can show you if you’d just let me.”

“When did you get so grown up?” She asked, tears glistening.

That was the million-dollar question that was sure to going to keep coming up as he attempted to navigate a life that he’d long left behind. For what must have been the billionth time he cursed his past immature self and wished he’d been a better person when he was really in high school.

He shrugged. “Guess right now's a good as time as any to start growing up.”

Lynn nodded, accepting instantly that her supposed teenaged son should start acting like an adult, now that she o longer had anyone to take care of her. “People are going to talk you know, he’s humiliated us.”

“Let them talk, we have bigger things to focus on.”

“Like what exactly?”

“Moving on, and making sure he stays away for a long time.”

“I can try.”

“That’s all I’m asking for,” Logan replied relieved with a stirring of hope in his chest.

* * *

The blare of her alarm woke Veronica up the next morning, a fog of confusion quickly lifted, it was the third day in a row that she’d woken up in the Sunset Cliffs apartment and with each passing day it dawned on her more and more that this could truly be her reality now, a life with Logan alive and a chance to save so many other people. If only she could’ve gone back an extra year there would be one more person to save but she’d count the blessings she did have. The chances were none of this was real anyway.

The night before things had gotten dark, she’d finally admitted to her dad the one thing she knew would completely break his heart and now in the light of day it was time for them to move forward. 

She still needed to talk to Logan, she’d meant to after her conversation with her dad but the reality of actually having it, along with admitting long-buried secrets had wiped her out and she’d crashed the moment she reached her bed, demons surprisingly staying away after the harrowing day.

Checking her phone she noticed a missed call and several texts from Logan, a couple acquiring about her wellbeing before the last one which rightly assumed she’d fallen asleep and that he’d try her again in the morning. Deciding to beat him to it she dialed back his number.

“Veronica? Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, sorry I didn’t call last night, I was exhausted.”

“That’s kinda understandable, how did Keith react?”

“About as well as could be expected. How did it go last night with your Mom?”

“Good, I think, she’d at least willing to try to build a life without him. The cops came and arrested him last night, caught them on their way out.”

“Ah Aaron Echolls in handcuffs, what a sight to behold.”

“Breathtaking every time.” Logan replied, “you ready for school today?”

“How could I not be after your dashing speech yesterday.”

“It better have worked.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure your lackeys are suitably afraid of you. They’re not who I’m worried about.”

“Beaver, Duncan and Wallace?”

“You know me so well, but don’t put Wallace into the same sentence as them, it sounds weird.”

“Yeah, noticed it as I was saying it.”

There was a knock at her door. “Veronica, Honey,” Keith said lowly as he opened the door, fearful on the off chance he woke his daughter up but seeing her up and on the phone, he walked into the room. “I thought I heard you talking.”

“Gotta go, I’ll talk to you later,” Veronica said to Logan before quickly turning off her phone, anxious to hear what her dad wanted to talk about after the night before as well as some of her teenaged tendencies to hide and separate the different parts of her life coming out now that she was forced to act more like her teenaged self.

“How are you feeling this morning?” Keith hovered near the door, suddenly, after seventeen years of confidently raising his daughter, unsure how to proceed.

“Well seeing as nothings changed for me in the past twenty-four hours, I’m fine.”

Keith frowned. “What about the Aaron Echolls tapes.”

“I didn’t think you were talking about that.”

“Well, I wasn’t really,” Keith said moving further in the room, before taking a seat at the bottom of Veronica’s bed. “But Honey, I think you’ve got too much going on right now, are you sure you don’t want to go back to therapy?”

“Cause it worked so well last time?” Veronica replied brightly. What would she talk about anyway? It's not like she was going to find a therapist specializing in time travel, well maybe delusions but she really did not want to go down that road.

“Just think about it okay? You said Logan wanted you to go back to therapy too? Maybe it's worth a think if a few, very different people are saying it.” The slip up from his daughter the other morning making a lot more sense now that he knew that Logan had helped Veronica with such an awful situation.

“Dad, come on, do you really think that cards gonna work? I can make my own decisions.”

“I know, I’m just looking out for you. Talking of looking out for you, you are not going to school today.”

“Dad, it’s fine, I’ve been managing just fine months now.”

“Just humor me on this one okay? You can stay home for the rest of the week while we worked out the next step. I'm sure you don't want to be in school with everyone gossiping about Aaron Echolls right now anyway and I don't want you around those people. If need be you’ll transfer to Pan High.”

“And what if that’s not what I want?”

“Veronica, this is for the best. I know I haven’t done a good job looking out for you this past year and I’m never going to forgive myself for that but I’m looking out for you now and this is the right call.”

“We’ll talk about it okay?”

“Veronica, who do you think the adult here is? I know you like to be tough but this is what’s happening okay. Breakfasts nearly finished, I’m going to go check on it, I'll see you out there in a minute but this conversation's over.”

Watching her father leave her room, Veronica suddenly well and truly missed the independence of being an adult.

Their breakfast was stilted, the openness of the night before now gone in the morning light, replaced by an awkwardness that can only truly be achieved by two people who don’t have any idea of what to say to each other.

“I’m going to head into the office in a bit, I have a meeting I couldn’t get out of and should probably get through a bit of the paperwork so it doesn’t get on top of us but I’ll close up at lunchtime okay?” Keith asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Yeah, okay. I can come in and get the paperwork sorted out.”

“No you should probably stay home, I told the school you were sick and I don’t want anyone to think I’m stopping your education for child labor.” He said forcing a smile.

“Okay, if you’re sure.” She was honestly glad to get a break from the awkwardness and sad eyes of that morning. Plus it would give her a proper chance to check in on Logan, she didn’t know how he’d react if he wasn’t able to save his mom this time so he needed her support right now to make sure that didn’t happen.

* * *

Veronica had waited ten minutes after her dad left to quickly change out of her pajamas and head out, she wasn’t worried about looking presentable, she was just going to see her husband, she just wanted to be out the door quick as she knew Keith wouldn’t be out too long and she wanted to be able to spend some time with Logan, to unpack with him everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

The drive to the 09er side of town seemed to take forever that morning with commuters filling up the roads and well Veronica had never exactly had a reputation for being the most patient person in the world. It seemed like an age had passed before Logan’s childhood home appeared in front of her, looming large, like the cold, dark place it had been.

Once walking up to the door she rung the doorbell, two sharp jabs, the same way she’d ring the bell for any of her clients.

It was Mrs. Navarro who opened the door for her, recognizing the sheriff's daughter who’d once frequently hung around the Echolls mansion, although usually accompanied by at least one Kane. The older woman smiled at Veronica. “Come in, I’m sure Logan would be grateful for a friend right now.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Navarro.” Truthfully she’d always had a soft spot for Weevil’s grandmother, especially after seeing how dedicated she was to raising her grandchildren when her own children weren’t able to for one reason or other. That reminded Veronica of another case she had around this time, a much more straight forward one. “You should know I think I overheard Chardo saying he took some credit card forms from the Echolls trash, if he is, he’s probably going to get caught at some point, maybe you can talk some sense into him.”

Lettie Navarro looked shocked at Veronica’s accusation of her grandson. “Whatever you think you heard you must have misunderstood, Chardo’s a good boy.”

Veronica nodded, expecting much of the reply. “Yeah I might’ve, I just thought you should know just in case.”

Mrs. Navarro nodded, looking deep in thought so Veronica decided to leave her to her own thoughts and carry on with her real mission for today. Make sure Logan was okay.

* * *

Logan was at his desk, searching on his computer for any resources he could find that might be of some help to his mom when there was a knock at his door.

“Come in.” He called, not looking up from the yet to be helpful google results.

“How’s it going sailor?” Veronica asked as she walked over to her husband and leaned over his shoulder, draping her arms loosely around his chest. “Help sites for when your husband’s arrested? Got something you want to tell me?” She teased mouth by his ear, managing to get a small smile out of him.

“No it’s for my mom, I just don’t know how to help her.”

Veronica stood up and moved to lean against the desk so she could face him. “I thought she was wanting to try?”

“She is but it’s not like she’s never given up when things got hard before, what’s to say she won't this time?” Logan said getting up from his desk to pace the room, finally voicing the thoughts that had been haunting him since his decision to try and save his mom.

“Logan things are different this time. You were still practically a child back then, you know so much more now, you’re able to help her so much more now and you’ve got my support, we got this.”

Logan ceased his pacing in front of Veronica, lowing his head to rest atop hers, he let out a breath and closed his eyes. “Thank you,” he whispered into her hair.

“Anytime.” She replied, closing her hands around his arms. Logan was reminded of another time she comforted him about his mom, in the Neptune Grand lobby, he could only hope that this timeline wouldn’t suffer the same fate.

Drawing back from her embrace, if only to see if physically moving would help shake his demons away. He took the time to properly look at her. “And how’s your morning turning out? Here to pick me up for another fun day of school?”

“Nope, being forced to play hooky by my dad so I thought I’d come by and see if you wanted to join me, I can’t imagine today’s going to be very fun for you there.”

Logan remembered the first time his dad had been arrested for Lilly’s murder, he’d missed the last week of school waiting for his own bail to come through but throughout that summer and his Senior year the looks he’d gotten whenever Aaron’s trial came up were not ones he’d ever want to see again. While he was in a much better place than his real teenaged counterpart, thanks to years of therapy, he was well aware this was one thing that, surprise, surprise he’d never truly recover from. Perhaps that was what kept drawing him and Veronica together, that they’d both been broken by the same event. Whatever the case, he’d much rather be here with her, working out how to face the rest of the world then alone with the anger that never really left him.  
“I think I could get away with staying home today, family crisis and all.”

“I think that is a very valid reason to stay off school, Mr. Mars.”

“Why thank you, Mrs. Logan,” Logan replied with a smirk.

* * *

Keith wished his suspicions weren’t proven correct when he saw his daughter leave their apartment not fifteen minutes after he said he’d be going to the office. Of course, he knew it was wrong to be spying on his daughter but after learning how much she’d kept from him and even now he was still not able to shake that she was holding something back from him. Yes he’d expect his seventeen-year-old daughter to have some secrets and there were things that he simply did not need or want to know about his teenager’s life but he’d been in the detective business for a long time and he knew when to trust his gut. He’d been going against it this past year, trying to reassure himself that Veronica was fine and now he was going to be carrying that guilt for the rest of his life. He was going to protect her now. If only he could figure out what she still, after everything she’d admitted to him, didn’t feel comfortable saying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact this chapter puts this fic at over twenty thousand words, another fun fact on my laptop I have another save of this fic at roughly two thousand words, a third fun fact when I opened my computer to work on this fic I was unaware of fact number two and nearly had a heart attack.
> 
> Hi everyone! Thanks for all the well wishes, I'm pleased to say that I'm totally better and out kicking ass but I still just don't have a lot of time to write cause university's a pain so still long waits between updates, however, as of yesterday I officially have internet in my house so no more having to put off uploading fully finished chapters until I find wifi at least.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and found it worth the wait, I'm hoping to have the next chapter up by Christmas but who knows, definitely by the new year though, I'll at least have time to write over the holidays.
> 
> If you want to check out my tumblr its passiveaggressiveturkeys. I no longer post updates there, however, because some people I know found out my url.
> 
> See ya at the next update!


	10. Spywork

The next couple of days crawled by at a snail's pace, neither Veronica or Logan went back to school for the rest of that week but while Logan had almost entirely regained his adult independence, Veronica very much had not.

Keith seemed to somehow have managed to step up his overprotectiveness and was keeping a much closer eye on his daughter, which meant Veronica had been mostly housebound since her unsanctioned leave of absence from school had started, not that she minded not having to resit all her old classes or spend time with some of the worst from the upper classes but a girl needed a break sometimes and too much daddy daughter time was driving her insane. Not to mention she hadn’t been able to sneak away to see Logan for two days, and while two days apart was nothing for them, considering it had only been five days since she thought that she had lost him for good, it was hard. The shock of that day had almost made her clingy, not that she would ever admit to such out loud. She couldn’t stop the small irrational part of her brain telling her again and again that as long as Logan wasn’t within her sights then he might not still be here, alive. Still, two days wasn’t that long, she could pull on her big girl boots and get on with it, even if her dad’s prison guard act was starting to get old.

Pulling out her laptop Veronica started work on her English essay. Her school teachers were emailing her the homework she was missing while away ‘sick’. The high school assignments were simpler then she remembered, but much of that may have been down to the fact that her last trip through high school had been long before she’d been a law school graduate. Still getting back into school assignments had been strange, not more stranger than the events of the past week but strange nevertheless. She was still getting back into her stride.

A knock at her door pulled her attention.

“Will you be wanting lunch or are you planning on spending the rest of the day in your room?” Keith asked walking up to her desk.

“It’s like you don’t know me at all.”

“Okay, well, it’ll be done a few minutes, there’s some stuff we need to talk about too.”

The classic case of masking bad news with food, he did know her well, well enough to know that the way to Veronica’s heart was and always would be through food. She made her way out of her bedroom, into the kitchen/living area to set the table, the least she could do considering her dad had cooked a proper meal instead of ordering in as they had been those past few days.

Once they sat down they ate in silence for a few minutes, both enjoying the lasagna Keith had made for them and neither eager for the conversation ahead.

“So I’ve got some news,” Keith eventually started.

Veronica looked up from her dish, the quip dying on her tongue when she saw the look on her fathers face.

“The Kanes aren’t admitting to covering up what exactly happened to Lilly but it looks like they’re going away for a while, get out of the spotlight, I doubt they’ll return here until at least Aaron’s trial is over and these things can take a while.”

Veronica nodded, it was all pretty much in line with what she remembered from what she had come to call the original timeline, it was still a little too science fiction for her taste but the reality of it was not letting up.

“So Aaron’s trial is definitely going ahead?” She asked, unsure if, without the attack on her and her dad, Aaron’s fame would grant him an opportunity to brush Lilly’s murder off much sooner than before.

“Yeah, it looks like it. I talked to Abel, seems now that the Kanes aren’t worried about their son going to jail, they’re not so willing to pay Abel off, he’s saying his innocent now so we have a real shot at getting the bad guy.”

Veronica smiled at her dad’s positivity, she knew as well as he did that people like Aaron so rarely paid for their sins. But what was the point of their job if they didn’t try to make them pay anyway?

“Good. I hope he rots away for the rest of his miserable life.”

“That’s my girl.”

Silence once again overlapped them, this time it was less tense, they were still both keeping secrets from each other, some bigger than others but the most important topics for that afternoon had been dealt with, well nearly all of them anyway.

“So, dad.” Veronica began.

“Yes, Honey?”

“Well I’ve been off school and Logan’s been off school and we could probably both use some time to study, you know so we don’t fall behind.” She trailed off seeing her dad’s face briefly cloud over before he sighed.

“So studying’s what they're calling it these days huh?”

She rolled her eyes other Keith’s terrible attempt at humour, glad nonetheless that he was attempting to be understanding, in his own way.

“I believe studying’s always been a thing, even back in the olden.”

“Okay, look you can invite Logan over but I want him to stay out here in the communal space at all times okay?” Keith said. "And I'm not that old kid."

“Yep, that’s fine, we'll stay out here.”

“And you’ll actually be studying?”

“That’s what I said isn’t it?”

Keith nodded, glad that apparently for once his daughter wasn’t hiding anything or going behind his back but wondering just what he was getting himself into.

* * *

Logan walked up to the Mars’s Sunset Cliffs apartment for the first time since his Freshman year of college. The apartment block offering a timeless feel that made Logan think if he had he returned in his own time the building would still look the same.

He only had to knock once on the familiar door before Veronica’s face appeared before him, it had only been three days since he’d seen her but it felt like an age. Aaron’s arrest had changed the atmosphere greatly in the Echolls Mansion, while there was an ease of one major tension. Logan couldn’t help but feel the unrest brewing from his mother. The only reason he’d felt comfortable leaving for just a few short hours to spend was because Mrs Navarro had promised him she’d keep on eye on Lynn and call should anything arise with her.

Veronica stared back at him and wordlessly stepped into his space, wrapping her arms around him in a rare burst of spontaneous affection, grounding Logan in the way of two of them had during their most difficult moments for the majority of their lives. She ran her arms up and down his back, for one beat, and then two before pulling back. Backup running up to take her place.

Logan knelt to the ground to give the dog the attention he deserved. “Hey Backup, you missed me? Sorry I haven’t got any treats for you this time buddy.”

“Is that why he always liked you? You bribed him?”

“Backup, much like his owner, was swept off his feet by my good looks and charm. If food happened to ingrain that impression of me then that’s not my fault, many animals take on the qualities of their owners.”

“Pony has always been far clingier than any other dog I’ve owned.”

Logan smiled up at her, letting the jab roll over him, changing the subject. “It’s kinda weird Pony not being here isn’t it?” 

“I guess, a bit,” Veronica replied, leaning down to scratch behind Backup’s ear, the fierce guard dogs head lolling against Logan. “I do miss her, a bit.”

Logan covered Veronica’s over Backup’s head. “It’s okay to admit you miss her you know, she’s basically our child.” Logan paused, looking very serious for a moment before continuing. “Would that make Backup your brother, and therefore Pony’s aunt?”

Veronica snorted, pulling back. “Okay nope, not having this conversation.”

“But Veronica, it’s looking like Pony will be the only child we’ll ever have, we should sort out the family tree.”

Veronica made to walk back inside the apartment but turned to throw over her shoulder. “What makes you so sure she'll be our only child?”

Logan gaped at her.

“We might get another dog.” Said Veronica with a smirk before shaking her head. “Okay, come on, who knows when we’ll next have a moment alone, we should use this time wisely.”

Logan smirked back, recovering quickly, something only made possible by years of learning how best to react to what Veronica says, and to what she says between the lines, a skill his teenage self had never quite mastered. “Wisely huh? What was that about making babies?.” he asked, closing the door behind him with his foot, his eyes racking over Veronica’s body.

“I never said anything about making babies.” Yet she shifted slightly closer to him.

That was all the encouragement Logan needed to crowd himself into her space and bring his mouth down onto hers. Veronica leaned further in, arms around his neck to keep it pulled down, an attempt to rectify their unequal heights. Logan swept his hand down her spine, resting his hand right above where her jeans started, keeping it there while he pulled back for breath.

“How long do we have until your dad gets back?”

“Not long enough.” Veronica sighed, leaning her head against Logan’s chest for a moment before pulling away, moving towards the couch. Her laptop, along with notepads and files littered the coffee table, a sight Logan had been too distracted to take in previously.

“Well hasn’t somebody been busy.” Said Logan, moving to sit beside his wife, prepared to dive into an afternoon of detective work with little to no fun to be had along the way.

“This is what I found on Woody Goodman.” Started Veronica, pointing towards the largest file. “The one next to it is on the boys we know he hurt, and that pile is everything I could find on time travel that didn’t sound like a conspiracy theory.”

“Veronica, that’s just all the Back to the Future movies.”

“They’re classics,” Veronica replied with a shrug. “Plus it turns out there’s a whole bunch of nut jobs online thinking they’ve actually time travelled.”

“If we explained what happened to us, we’d be the ones sounding like nut jobs, how can we know which ones are real or not?”

“I don’t know.” Veronica jumped up suddenly and paced the living room. “I don’t know and I feel like I’m going insane, maybe I am, maybe you died and that was the final straw.”

Logan got up, walked over to her and halted her pacing by placing his arms on her shoulders. “I know but I’m here, I'm really here and I’ll keep saying it until you believe it. I think we’re here to change something, maybe to stop Penn, maybe something else, I don’t know but I know you’ll figure it out because that’s what you always do.”

Veronica sighed. “You know always knowing the right thing to say isn’t helping me believe you’re not a figment of my imagination.”

Logan leaned down, low enough that his lips just barely brushed her ear. “I have ways that will definitely prove to you that you’re not imagining me.”

Her quiet but sharp intake of breath was proof enough to him that he was getting to her, no matter what she claimed.

“Easy up Bucko, just a few more days and I’m all yours,” Veronica said, returning to the couch, slightly more settled if not relaxed. “We’re not going to get to the bottom of this time travel thing today but we do have a pedo to catch.”

“That’s my girl, always finding the positives.” Replied Logan, settling back down beside her, Backup curling up on his feet.

Veronica shook her head at him before picking up the second pile of notes. “Marcos Oliveres and Peter Ferrer. Two former members of Woody’s little league and oh so close to being ready to tell the world the truth about the terribly named Mr Goodman.”

“You going to talk to them?”

“Yeah, I’m going try at least, it’s not going to be long before they’re ready, they might even be already and I need to make sure I get to them before they tell Cassidy about their plans, it’ll be a lot easier to save everyone if the murderer isn’t aware they need saving from him.”

Logan covered her hand with his. “Then we’ll make sure he doesn’t know.”

* * *

Keith sat in his office, listening to the livefeed coming from the bug he’d planted in his living room, he felt uncomfortable and awkward listening in on her private moments and he knew it was wrong of him to spy on his teenaged daughter but he also knew that in Neptune teenage girls who kept secrets could easily end up dead. And his daughter excelled at keeping secrets. This, however, was one secret he wasn’t expecting to hear. None of what they were saying made any sense.

His first thought was that the traumatic stress of discovering who was behind the murder of someone so close to the two of them had caused both Logan and Veronica to experience some sort of shared delusion. The part of him that loved cheesy science fiction couldn’t help but point out that time travel almost made more sense than a lot of the explanations his daughter had supplied him with over the last few days. But that was ridiculous. 

Keith sighed, whatever was going on, his life was about to get a whole lot more complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise bet you thought you'd seen the last of me. When I said I was never gonna abandon this fic I did mean it, however, I did not anticipate so many months between updates so if anyone out there actually still cares about this fic sorry and I really hope that the next chapter doesn't have such a long wait. The reason there was such a big gap was that my cripplingly low self-esteem had me thinking I couldn't write this story to the standard it deserves, at the same time I realised I was spending too much time writing this and not my coursework and was starting to fall behind. Basically all that means is I'm gonna have to get better at telling my self-doubt to go away and also if I don't get this finished by October, when I start my last year at university there will be a big gap again.
> 
> Anyway, I hope at least a couple of you still want to read this, cause I honestly do enjoy writing it and I hope to get the next chapter out soon. If you want go follow me on tumblr at passiveaggressiveturkeys.


End file.
